1898 
435 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
All communications intended for E. S. 
Carman, should he mailed to River Edge, 
Bergen County, N. from now until 
October 1. 
May 30.—Home again. City life has 
its pleasures, certainly, but we are glad 
to get home again. We call the Rural 
Grounds “ home,” though for the past 
six years and over, the family has spent 
eight months of the year in the same 
city abode. This “ abode ” is a flat, the 
sixth (top) story of an apartment house. 
There are eight pleasant rooms “ and a 
hath.” We say “ pleasant.” Every room 
has a window or two windows, and being 
a full story higher than the western ad¬ 
jacent buildings, one looks over them to 
the Hudson River, only half a mile away, 
and the Palisades of New Jersey. The 
ventilation is perfect, let the season or 
weather be what it may. 
To the east, there is Central Park just 
opposite, and the quietest, pleasantest 
portion of it at that. This gives the 
writer a privilege which he highly prizes, 
for there are few days from October 1 
to late May that he does not walk in it 
from one to three miles. Central Park 
is a grand place. It was so arranged that 
the traffic streets are “ planted out,” and 
it is easy to imagine, if one’s liver is 
sound, that he is in a. paradise of shrubs, 
trees, lakes, hills, valleys, beautiful 
arches and bridges, birds, squirrels, pea 
fowls and the like, the whole scene en¬ 
livened by gay equipages, equestrians, 
bicycles, happy babies being wheeled in 
their carriages by nurses, seemingly 
happy and contented, too. 
The tameness of the animals of Cen¬ 
tral Park is noteworthy. Robins seem 
not to notice the passersby, and it is the 
same with blackbirds and the beautiful 
little songsters that frequent the Park, 
who seem to have learned that they have 
naught to fear. 
Nevertheless, we are glad to get back 
to the Rural Grounds. That is ours; we 
made it, so to say, and one may be par¬ 
doned for a partiality for the results of 
his own hard work. Resides, we may 
fairly say that, though Central Park is 
beautiful and grand throughout, there 
are no two acres in it that can begin to 
show the choice and perfect specimens 
of plants that are thriving at the Rural 
Grounds. 
The interest taken by readers in our 
advocacy and inquiries as to Awnless 
Brome grass (Bromus inermis) is not as 
hearty as we would like it to be, or as 
the subject seems to warrant. Our little 
plot sown three years ago in poor soil is 
as thrifty as it can be. The grass, -now 
heading out, averages three feet high, 
and it is as thick as grass can well grow. 
Horses and cows seem to relish it as 
much as they do Timothy or any other 
grass. We cut it for horses during the 
entire season. It keeps on growing, and 
is as green and thrifty in the Fall as in 
the Spring. It is not too late to sow the 
seed, and we hope some of our progres¬ 
sive grass farmers will care to give it a 
trial in a small way. As a lawn grass 
for poor soil, we are not yet ready to 
pass judgment. 
Magnolia IIypolkuca. —Very little, if 
anything, has been said of this choice 
Japan tree, outside of The R. N.-Y. The 
reason is, probably, that it is compara¬ 
tively new ; that the rural journals do 
try new trees ; that it is high-priced and, 
finally, that few nurseries offer it. Never¬ 
theless, it is a grand tree—in our opinion 
the most valuable of the foreign kinds. 
Ihe habit of the tree is much like that 
of the Great-leafed Magnolia—M. macro- 
phylla, or the Umbrella Magnolia, except 
that it is more erect in growth. The 
leaves average more than a foot long, 
being broadest just above the middle or, 
botanically, obovate. Some of the leaves 
are 18 inches long and 10 inches broad in 
the widest part, of a bright green surface 
and downy or velvety beneath with 
prominent whitish veins running nearly 
at right angles to the midrib. It is a 
beautiful leaf—as “tropical” as a leaf 
can be. These are borne in clusters of 
five or six on the ends of the cane-like 
branches, and the flower is in the middle. 
The flowers are creamy-white in color, 
about eight inches in diameter, having 
usually eight petals (this is variable) 
subtended by three large bracts of the 
same color as the petals. This tree, un¬ 
like most of the Japan Magnolias, does 
not bloom until its leaves are well ad¬ 
vanced, and it continues to bloom longer 
than any Magnolia with which the writer 
is familiar. Now let us speak of its most 
charming characteristic: The flowers 
have precisely the odor of a ripe, rich 
pineapple, and this odor is so pronounced 
that a single blossom will perfume a 
room. 
We are aware that this is not a timely 
note. But we must write of these rare 
trees and shrubs while they are at their 
best, and while, for this season, we may 
write from life, so to say. During the 
earlier season, every department of Tiie 
R. N.-Y. is crowded, and it is unjust to 
the majority of our readers that one de¬ 
partment should encroach unduly upon 
the others. Our readers are requested 
to make a note in favor of Magnolia 
Hypoleuca. Spring is the best time to 
transplant it. This may be said of all 
Magnolias. 
Virurnum plicatum. Now we must 
call the attention of our readers to an¬ 
other grand hardy plant, the Plicate- 
leafed Viburnum, a native of China. We 
dare say that all are familiar with the 
Rush Cranberry (V. opulus) and child, 
the Guelder Rose or Snowball tree (V. 
opulus sterilis). No one would care for 
either after seeing a well-grown speci¬ 
men of V. plicatum, which may easily 
take rank among the choicest of hardy 
shrubs whether we regard the flowers, 
leaves or habit of the plant. The Snow¬ 
ball or Guelder rose bears flowers nearly 
as showy, but the leaves are not pretty, 
are liable to be injured by insects, and 
the habit is scraggly. Plicatum is a 
mass of sturdy foliage, and the shape is 
perfect. The leaves are all of a deep 
green, widely-ovate, pointed and deeply 
plicated. The leaves are opposite, so are 
the flowers. We count (June 1)10 flow¬ 
ers to a foot of stem, so that the shrub, 
which is eight feet high, is as white as 
a snowbank sprinkled with green. The 
flowers are about three inches in diame¬ 
ter, made up of about eight pedicels an 
inch long, each of which bears upwards 
of 20 five-petaled Verbena-like white 
flowers fully an inch in diameter. These 
flowers are, all of them, absolutely ster¬ 
ile, having not even the rudiments of 
pistils or stamens. The flowers are with¬ 
out odor, and that is the only thing that 
can fairly be said against the shrub. We 
have never known it to be injured by 
insects of any kind. The shrubs grow 
to the height of about 10 feet, but cutting 
them back occasionally makes them more 
compact and shapely. 
The season, unparalleled for its cold, 
its rain and misty, cloudy skies, has well 
nigh distracted the farmers in our sec¬ 
tion, and the poorer of them are quite 
discouraged. Potato seed has rotted in 
many fields; sweet corn and Lima beans 
are being replanted. The tomato crop 
will be so late that it cannot pay for the 
cost of raising the plants, cultivating 
the fields and marketing the fruit. 
Prof. Hilgard’s “ Partial Report of 
Work of the Agricultural Experiment 
Stations of the University of California 
(Berkeley) ” for the years 1895-1897 has 
just reached us, though through no fault 
of the University, and gives us some 
additional information as to the Awnless 
Brome grass (Bromus inermis) which, as 
stated above, and several times previous¬ 
ly, is being tried at the Rural Grounds. 
It seems that it was introduced by the 
California Station (from Europe) during 
1884. It was reintroduced as a promis¬ 
ing novelty by eastern experimenters 
during the last few years, and has been 
found to be the best among a number 
of grasses that have been tried in Kan¬ 
sas and other parts of the arid regions 
of the interior. 
The drought-resisting character of the 
grass was early noticed in the Univer¬ 
sity’s Berkeley experiment plots, and, 
grown alongside of Schrader’s Brome 
grass, surpassed it in satisfactory growth, 
being softer and more leafy, and bearing 
seed which clings more tenaciously to 
the stems, which are finer than those of 
Schrader. Under the conditions which 
prevail in the central coast region of 
California, it is commended as likely to 
please the grower better than Schrader’s. 
“It is worthy,” the report concludes, 
“ of the widest trial.”. 
Doliciios Lablab and Mucuna pruriens 
have both been given as the botanical 
name of the Velvet bean. Dolichos Lab- 
lab is described by Baron Von Mueller, 
as a native of the warmer parts of Africa, 
where it matures in about three months. 
The young pods and ripe seeds are avail¬ 
able for culinary use, while the whole 
plant is used for cattle feed. Mucuna 
pruriens is the cow-itch of the East 
Indies—certainly a distinct plant. It is 
not mentioned as an economic plant, 
though another Mucuna, M. Cochinchin- 
ensis, grows in the open air in England, 
and furnishes edible pods similar in 
taste to those of the Scarlet runner. 
Killing Dock and Politicians. —A. H. 
Merrill, of Massachusetts, speaking of 
the advice about killing dock on page 
385, says : *• Send the boys out with the 
kerosene can, and when they find a large, 
old root, the size of a saucer, turn on a 
saucerful of the oil. Use it on smaller 
ones in proportion, and in two or three 
weeks, you will have to look twice to 
find their remains.” Our friend says 
truly, that our political bosses are worse 
enemies to this country and government 
everywhere, than 1,000 Spaniards. He 
is right, it takes only a short proclama¬ 
tion to raise 1,000,000 men, eager to fire 
oft’ a gun at a Spaniard. It is like pull¬ 
ing teeth, however, to get a single man 
to fire off a vote at a political boss. 
Agents 
Wanted. 
A Twelve- 
year-old Boy 
can do more andbette. work with 
this Hand Cultivator than three men can ilo 
with common hoes. If you can’t get the 
Hand Cultivator 
of your dealer, send 70 cents Tor sample. 
Farmers' Handy Tool Circular mailed free, 
ULRICH J1F0. CO., 20 River St., Rock Falls, 111. 
l Don 9 1 Buy a Gold Brick 
• in the form ol‘II hand muclilne for making 
• woven wire fence. You never saw, and you never will 
• <ee a good fence made in that way. Buy the reliable 
•Keystone woven wire Fence 
• and you will have tho best fence that can be made from 
• wire or anything else. It’s cheap, when you consider it* 
• life and its quality Get it from your dealer or direct from 
4us. We pay the freight Free circulars. 
« KKYSTONF. WOVEN WIRE FENCE (*o. nRiishSt.PeorU,Ill. 
• ■ o ^~o - o-» o i-O 
[ADAM 
THE FENCE MAN! 
Makes Woven Wire 
Fence that “8tanda 
Up.” Cannot Sag.; 
Get hie new catalogue. It 
telle all about The Best 
A Fa*rn Fence Made. . _ 
W. J. ADAM, Joliet, 
A O ♦ O— < ~ ‘ “ - — - - 
England and Russia 
want to be considered friendly. But they can’t offer 
us such safety from interference as is afforded the 
llock by intervention of i’iiire fence. 
PACK WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO.. Adrian, Mich. 
Galvanized Barbed Wire 
Best quality. *1.90 per 100 pounds. Write for prices, 
delivered at your railroad station. 
JAMES S. CASK, Colchester, Conn. 
$20 Phosphate for Wheat and Grass 
Sold to farmers direct. We have no agents. Send for 
Circular. Low prices for car-load lots. 
YORK CHEMICAL WORKS. YORK. PA. 
| Profits I 
of Farming!; 
!; Gardening and Fruit Culture J | 
j [ depend upon Good Crops and j | 
i i they in turn upon Good For- ' [ 
| ' til I sore. The uniformly boot < > 
1 | fertiliser for all Crop* and all 
i i soils is made by ( i 
|! THE CLEVEUID NTEI CO.,I! 
{ CLEVELAVO, O. 
Material* rupplU* fmr “Ham* Miming." | 
Some Bargain Combinations. 
This is a popular combination. The four books are 
by P. H. Jacobs, and illustrated. The poultry papers 
are well edited, and recognized authorities. 
Price alone 
Poultry Keeper. to. 50 
Inter-State Poultry man. 50 
Designs for Poultry Houses. 25 
Incubators and Brooders ..25 
Diseases of Poultry.25 
How to Judge Fowls.25 
The Rural New-Yorker. 1.00 
Total.$3.00 
Combination price, $1.50. 
Thrice-a-Week World. 
Gives yon all the news of the whole world 
every other day. It is the next thing to a 
great dally paper. We can send it and The 
Ruhal New-Yorker, both one year, for $1.05. 
Hoard’s Dairyman 
and The Rural New-Yorker, both one 
year, for $1.65. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. New YORK. 
POTATOES 
TRUCK 
CORN 
OATS 
High-Grade BONE FERTILIZERS are best, most per¬ 
manent and cheapest. Our goods are especially adapted to 
spring crops. Special brands for potatoes, com and oats, 
supplying plant food available for immediate use, and leaving 
something for future grass crops. None better or cheaper. 
I. P. THOMAS & SON GO., £ V A °" 
Farmers be Wise, Deal with us and Save 40 pcbot. on your Fertilizers. 
You Save Salesman’s Expenses and Agent’s Profit . 
Analysis. Phos. Acid, Ammonia, Aetna] Potash, 
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 
Pure Raw Bone Meal. 22 to 25 4 to 5 . #a 2 .ooperton 
Pour Fold Fertiliser. 9tol0 2to3 2 to 3 16.00 “ 
Smoky City “ 8 to 10 IV. to 2% 1 >£ to 2J4 15.00 M 
Big Bonanza “ 9 to 10 2% to 3% 4 to 5 ao.oo “ 
Potato Special “ 9 to 10 3>| to 4 L£ 8 to T 03.00 “ 
Tobacco Special “ 11 to 12 3 to 4 4 to 5 ax.oo " 
A Bone and Meat. 13 to 15 4 to 5 . 18.00 " 
SFor samples and pamphlet, write WALKER STRATMAN 4 CO. Herr’s Island, Pittsburg. Pa. 
