754 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October 28 
; R ural isms ; 
0 V ~T 'VW” Y ” V T ^ HT WW 
The Cosmos. —The last flower of our 
gardens is the bright and airy Cosmos, 
which has been vastly improved of late 
in size and finish of bloom, and in range 
of color. The new early-blooming va¬ 
rieties produce nice blooms as early as 
July, but they are all greatly inferior 
in habit and foliage to the late sorts. 
The “Yellow Cosmos” of the past few 
years, which is not a Cosmos at all, but 
the old Bidens aurea, was a great disap¬ 
pointment to many from its insignifi¬ 
cant flower and sprawling habit. A 
new Yellow Cosmos will soon be intro¬ 
duced, which is said to be really a 
worthy companion of the red and white 
varieties. 
Sterns Seedling Apple was general¬ 
ly considered the most promising seed¬ 
ling at this year’s New York State Fair. 
It is shown in Fig. 279. It was grown 
from seed of a Spitzenburg, by Chas. L. 
Sterns, of North Syracuse, N. Y., and 
came into bearing at six or seven years 
of age. It is much larger and flatter in 
shape than the Spitzenburg, and bright¬ 
er in color, being generally overspread 
with red. The quality is considered by 
those who have tested it, fully as good 
as Gravenstein. Mr. Sterns says it has 
taken prizes wherever exhibited. He 
has several trees now, and finds them 
great bearers. 
A Fine Apple. —I send you speci¬ 
mens of Cox’s Orange Pippin, which 
is, to my mind, one of the best des¬ 
sert apples that matures at this sea¬ 
son. It is a little ahead of time this 
year, from the fact we have had such a 
drought and extremely warm weather. 
It is an apple that sells at highest prices 
in London; I have noticed quotations 
there several times at $10 per barrel. I 
have only two grafts of this variety, 
sent me from England. Its tendency to 
over-productiveness is such that it 
should be thinned upon the trees early 
in the season. s. d. willard. 
R. N.-Y.—We consider this the finest 
dessert apple we have ever tasted. It 
has a peculiarly fine spicy flavor, high 
aroma and melting flesh. The speci¬ 
mens were small, and not high colored. 
Epicures prefer a small apple, of high 
flavor. 
California Plums. —The red plums 
winch are commonly seen on the fruit 
stands in the city streets in September, 
are mostly Bradshaw and Pond, grown 
in California. They both grow reasona¬ 
bly well in Michigan, New York, and the 
southern part of the New England 
States, but are affected by curculio in 
some sections, and under certain pecu¬ 
liar climatic conditions the rot also in¬ 
jures them. The same troubles affect all 
of the European plums, more or less. 
Spraying with the copper remedies is 
quite helpful. The climate of California 
and all of the territory west of the Con¬ 
tinental Divide is very different from 
that to the eastward, and there is no 
curculio there; which two facts account 
for the remarkable success of the plums 
in all that country. To grow the same 
class of plums in all the eastern 
States requires much more skill and 
labor. H. e. v. d. 
SOME RELIABLE HARDY SHRUBS. 
Part I. 
A considerable number of ornamental 
shrubs, which are great favorites in the 
warmer Atlantic States, have proved un¬ 
reliable in the Northwest, and generally 
in the prairie regions. In planting lim¬ 
ited places one is naturally desirous of 
alloting space only to the things that 
are quite certain to succeed. Every lo¬ 
cality has its popular varieties, which 
have proved best adapted to the special 
conuiLons, and a good proportion of 
these should always be planted, after 
which selections of forms less familiar 
are desirable. The massing of shrubs in 
groups or beds is always more satisfac¬ 
tory than scattered and single speci¬ 
mens, and care should be taken that the 
tallest growers be placed in the cenfer 
or background, as the case may be. Once 
well established, a group of shrubs is a 
continual source of pleasure, and re¬ 
quires but little attention. They are not 
likely to be much damaged by poultry, 
or accidental forays of barnyard ani¬ 
mals. Most of the following varieties 
are well-known, many being regarded as 
“old-fashioned,” but to some this will 
be their greatest recommendation. We 
give them in the order in which they 
usually bloom. 
Daphne Mezereum, the common Eu¬ 
ropean Mezereon, blooms in March or 
April, covering its slender branches 
with clusters of pinkish flowers. The 
first of all cultivated shrubs to bloom; 
not very showy, but neat and desirable. 
Forsytiiia. —Golden bell, also known 
in portions of the West as goldenrod. 
April and early May. The deep yellow 
pendulous bells appear before the leaves, 
and completely clothe the larger 
branches. Forsythias form a great and 
charming feature of the Washington 
and southern parks, but they appear to 
be more sparingly used in the North. 
dwarf shrubs belong to the Plum family. 
They form perfect wreaths of small, 
double, rose-like flowers, closely set on 
the branches, and appearing in May, be¬ 
fore the leaves appear. Prunus triloba 
and P. virgata flore roseo pleno, are not 
so well known, but are very desirable. 
The flowers are double, nearly an inch 
in diameter, and thickly set The for¬ 
mer species has pink flowers, and the 
latter rose-colored, appearing several 
days earlier. 
Spiraea prunifolia; Bridal wreath. 
The double-flowering form is the only 
one now grown. The pure white daisy¬ 
like little blossoms cluster around the 
stems, forming veritable wreaths. Re¬ 
mains in bloom a long time, and may be 
regarded as one of the most useful of all 
early-blooming shrubs. Flowers in May, 
the leaves appearing before bloom fades. 
Spiraea Tiiunrergii blooms soon af¬ 
ter. It is much dwarfer, and makes a 
bush of round, graceful form; flowers, 
white and siingle; narrow, yellowish 
foliage. A good companion to the 
Bridal wreath. There are nearly 30 
species and varieties of Spiraea offered 
by the large nurseries. Some are native, 
but most of them came from China and 
Japan. All are desirable in their way. 
They include both herbaceous plants, 
dying to the ground each Winter, and 
STERNS SEEDLING APPLE. Fig. 279. 
From China and Japan; very hardy, but 
some protection may be needed in ex¬ 
treme situations. F. Fortuneii and F. viri- 
dissima are the best known varieties. 
F. suspensa is similar in bloom, but of a 
drooping habit. F. intermedia (new) is 
very handsome, and is claimed to be 
the hardiest of all. They are dwarf 
growers, seldom exceeding six to eight 
feet. The flowers of all are much alike, 
but the foliage varies somewhat. 
Cydonia; Japan quince. Flowering 
quince. Several varieties of this well- 
known and brilliant-flowering shrub are 
offered, but none will give such satisfac¬ 
tion as the single scarlet, the original 
type. It is of straggling growth, but 
may easily be kept in bounds, as it bears 
the pruning-knife well. The foliage is 
bright and glossy, and the flowers un¬ 
equaled for brilliancy of color. The 
blooms appear early and in well- 
trimmed specimens, they cover every 
branch and twig before the leaves de¬ 
velop. Some of the varieties, like C. 
Japonica grandiflora (blush white), and 
C. Japonica Maulei (orange color), bear 
large fruits, which can be used for pre¬ 
serves and jellies. Other varieties have 
single or semi-double flowers, white, 
blush, rosy, and scarlet. The Japan 
quince makes a fine hedge, or single 
specimen, if kept neatly trimmed. 
Prunus Japonica flore pleno; 
Dwarf double-flowering almond, rose 
and white varieties. Although popular¬ 
ly called flowering almonds, these pretty 
hard-wooded shrubs, growing six to 10 
feet high. The blooming season of the 
different kinds extends from May to the 
middle of August. One of the best 
later-blooming kinds is S. Van Houtteii, 
considered the finest of all. In early 
June it is completely covered with 
masses of white flowers, and presents a 
most striking appearance. Of graceful 
drooping habit, growing about Six feet 
high. 
S. Billardii is of medium height; 
commences to bloom in July, and con¬ 
tinues nearly all Summer. Flowers 
pink or rose-colored, in round plumes or 
“feathers” at the tips of the branches. 
Very desirable in itself and useful for 
variety. S. callosa alba and S. Japonica 
Anthony Waterer, are both of very 
dwarf, but Vigorous growth. They sel¬ 
dom exceed two feet high. The first has 
pure white flowers in flat corymbs. An¬ 
thony Waterer bears flowers of a simi¬ 
lar character, but of a rich crimson 
color. Both commence in early July, 
and keep in bloom practically all Sum¬ 
mer. The latter is the taller and the 
more persistent bloomer. 
There is a revival of interest in the 
Narcissus or daffodil. Many handsome 
new hybrids have lately been shown, and 
the bulbs of the choicest are held at $75 
each. One would think the holder would 
wait awhile, but we must remember that 
it takes seven or eight years to produce a 
good blooming bulb from seed. 
Big Fruit.— The following specimens 
were shown at the Oxford, Pa., fair: A 
Newtown Pippin measured 14 inches in 
circumference and weighed 20 ounces; a 
Fallawater, 13% inches; Golden Pippin, 11; 
English Red Streak. 12^; Hayes, 14; Early 
Rambo, 13; White Doctor, 12V6, and a Ben 
Davis 14 inches. A plate of Champion 
quinces showed some monster fruit, one 
of the quinces being 14*4 inches in circum¬ 
ference. 
Mr. Wm. Fowler, of Maple Beach, N. 
Y., sent specimens of a new seedling apple 
which he calls Fowler’s Seedling. Prof. 
Van Deman says of it: “This name can¬ 
not be used for this variety, in case it may 
seem prudent to propagate it, for Fowler 
has already been used as one of the names 
of Smith, which is an old and well-known 
apple. I like the flavor of this new seed¬ 
ling, although it is not especially rich, nor 
so good as Gravenstein, which ripens at 
the same time. The flesh is very tender 
and the size and color good. But why 
add another variety and name to the list 
when we already have others as good or 
better?” 
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ft 
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