/ 2 
January 30 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Ruralisms : 
^ ► 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Turn Transvaal Daisy. —Not much 
has been heard of this high-colored 
daisy-like flower since its general intro¬ 
duction to American horticulture two 
years ago. It was awarded the highest 
prize as the most important new plant 
shown at the exhibition of the New 
York Horticultural Society in May, 1901, 
and when offered by a few dealers the 
following Spring at 50 cents each all 
available plants were quickly sold. Ap¬ 
parently no large stocks have since been 
propagated, as it is still priced at 35 
cents where listed at all. It is slow of 
increase by division and seeds have 
hitherto been very scarce, though we 
now hear of quantities being collected in 
South Africa, where the plant grows on 
arid hills between water courses. It en¬ 
dures considerable frost if kept dry when 
dormant, but does not winter well with 
us even under cold frame protection. It 
is, however, admirably adapted for con¬ 
servatory and window garden culture. 
Vigorous plants bloom constantly during 
Winter with very moderate sunlight, and 
in a temperature favorable to gerani¬ 
ums and the usual window plants. Fig. 
31, page 67, is little better than a dia¬ 
gram but shows accurately the form and 
size of a Winter bloom. The color of 
the best specimens is brilliant vermil¬ 
ion scarlet. As each flower at this sea¬ 
son lasts in perfect condition four to six 
weeks, and is borne on a strong stem 12 
to 16 inches high, a blooming plant is 
very decorative. The foliage resembles 
that of the common dandelion, but is 
larger and of much firmer texture. The 
flowers develop with great deliberation, 
a bud appearing at the base and slowly 
rising on its long stem, generally man¬ 
aging to open just as its predecessor 
fades. Florists have not been able to do 
much with the Transvaal daisy so far, 
though the handsome blooms sell read¬ 
ily at 25 cents each when offered. The 
plant does not like to be hurried and re¬ 
sents forcing treatment by dying out or 
“going blind” in flower production. 
Quite Easy to Grow. —Observation 
and trials extending over several years 
have convinced us that plants of the 
Transvaal daisy need no coddling at any 
time, and should be disturbed as seldom 
as possible. When received pot careful¬ 
ly in a five or six-inch pot half filled 
with coarse drainage material over 
which an ordinary light rich compost 
should be placed Equal parts of sandy 
soil and fine old manure, with a trifle of 
ground bone is very suitable. The roots 
are brittle, requiring the compost to be 
worked in with some care. After the 
pared in desirability to the scarlet form, 
as red is an exceedingly rare color 
among flowers of its type. After two or 
three years’ growth several crowns are 
likely to form. The plants may then be 
carefully divided, taking care to secure 
some good roots with each crown', which 
may be potted up separately. Divisions 
should be watered very cautiously until 
new leaves start, when they may have 
the same treatment as older plants. The 
botanical name of the Transvaal daisy 
is Gerbera Jamesoni, but the former 
term seems generally adopted by gar¬ 
deners. 
More Ahout Stokesia Cyanea. —The 
Southern Floral Nursery Co., of Fruit- 
dale, Ala., has furnished most of the 
seeds of this charming hardy plant now’ 
in commerce. They give the following 
account of it as found in their locality: 
As a wild plant it is rare except m a few 
scattered localities. Here in Washington 
County it grows in one wet pine barren in 
thick beds, and during the blooming season 
in May and June it forms a perfect sheet 
of blue. The plants are often 18 to 20 
inches high, and the flowers two to four 
inches in diameter. These beds are not 
large, and are seldom found close together. 
They are usually situated below a springy 
seep from higher land on what is known 
as crawfish ground, having usually a good 
deal of moisture throughout the year. Dur¬ 
ing our rainy season in February and 
March these places are very wet. The red¬ 
dish color you note comes on all the 
blooms the third or fourth day after open¬ 
ing. We do not look for other colors ex¬ 
cepting white, of which we have found a 
few plants, and sold them to a loading 
dealer last Fall at $5 each. When the 
present boom of this beautiful flower 
started we located several fine beds of the 
plants and saved many pounds of seeds, 
which form the stocks now being exten¬ 
sively catalogued. We admired this attrac¬ 
tive wild flower ever since we came South 
some years ago, but did not find out its 
name for some time, as Gray’s school 
botany did not give it a place. It grows 
stronger and blooms better when trans¬ 
planted from its native bog to higher 
ground. We believe it will prove a grand 
flower for cultivation in the North. It has 
a drawback as a cut flower, as it closes at 
night, but opens again next day. This ren¬ 
ders it of little account for evening decora¬ 
tion, but it is all right for other purposes. 
It appears from this account that Ala¬ 
bama Stokesias are much superior to 
typical specimens growing in the Caro- 
linas. As interest in native plants wid¬ 
ens we are likely to get better local 
strains of many species that are now in 
trade. The property of growing better 
in dry soil than in its native bog is not 
confined to Stokesia. Many bog plants 
share this peculiarity, notably Hibiscus 
moscheutos, the Rose mallow of our 
northern marshes and kindred species. 
They always increase in vigor whep 
transplanted to good garden soil. Such 
plants often start rather feebly from 
seeds, and cannot compete in the wild 
state with quick-growing weeds on rich 
upland, and are supposed to hpve re¬ 
tired to swamps and bogs where compe¬ 
tition in plant life is less keen, and sur- 
soil has been made firm pot and all 
should be well soaked in water which 
should Thereafter be given only when 
the soil shows signs of drying out. If 
kept in a frame or plunged outside in a 
sunny place and watered only when 
needed during Summer, strong crowns 
should result, certain to bloom freely 
throughout the coming Winter under 
ordinary window conditions. If kept in 
the shade or water-logged only a weak 
yellow growth is likely to result, with a 
corresponding scarcity of good flowers. 
Potted plants may be fertilized with top- 
dressings of fine manure, bone dust, 
wood ashes or liquid manures as need¬ 
ed, but seldom require repotting. We 
have been thus explicit as hundreds of 
plants have been ruined by stimulating 
treatment, or lost from planting out in 
cold, wet places. Treated rightly, it is 
as well adapted for the home garden as 
the geranium, Fuchsia or Begonia, and 
promises to be more lasting and less 
troublesome than most window plants. 
Various shades of yellow and orange are 
found among the seedlings. These are 
fine in their way, but cannot be com- 
vival is possible. w. v. r. 
Good Sweet Corn.— In Hope Farm 
Notes, page 871, is an interesting account 
respecting the failure of sweet corn, last 
season, to form ears. Throughout central 
and western New York the season was un¬ 
usually unfavorable for both the grow¬ 
ing and ripening of corn, and yet, as in 
most other matters, there were some re¬ 
markable exceptions. My agricultural in¬ 
terests are limited to about one-eighth of 
an acre, used as a kitchen garden, on a 
cold, heavy clay loam, the loam being 
mostly coal ashes. On this garden I 
planted, the first week in May, a new kind 
of sweet corn called “Nemo,” on which 
there were perfectly ripened ears the last 
of August and, better yet, there w’ere al¬ 
most invariably three ears on each stalk. 
It was my second year in growing this 
variety and I find it to be of superior ex¬ 
cellence. c. F. B. 
Auburn, N. Y. 
Agriculture for Beginners, by Bur¬ 
kett, Stevens and Hill; 267 pages; 218 il¬ 
lustrations. This is intended as a text¬ 
book for school use, but will be equally 
valuable for reference in the farm library. 
Some of the subjects treated are: The 
Soil; Plant Propagation; Insects and Dis¬ 
eases; Farm Crops; Domestic Animals; 
Farm Dairying. The appendix gives con¬ 
densed information about spraying mix¬ 
tures, fertilizers, etc. Published by Ginn 
& Co., Boston; price, 75 cents, postpaid 
from this office. 
SPRAY NOW 
For San Jose scale an 
all fungusdiseasesuse 
Til K PERFEC¬ 
TION SI’KAVER, furnished complete with cart 
and barrel, combined hand and horsepower. Sprays 
everything, trees, potatoes, etc. Catalogue free. 
Thomas Peppier, Box 20, Hightstutvn, N. ,1. 
.EMPIRE 
""KING 
,........ or ORCHARD MONARCHl 
PERFECT AGITATORS With Automatic Brush | 
for el«*nlngi trainer. No leather or rubber nlrM. All itjlee of Spray 
Pump#. Book free. “NoevlndleU feeling if you uee our pumpe. ” 
Field Force Pump Co. 2 • 1 Tth St. Elmira, N.Y. 
PRAYING 
brings fruits and flowers. We make 
the right appliances. Special adapta 
tion to every need. 
HAND, BUCKET, BARREL KNAP¬ 
SACK and POWER SPRAYERS. 
20 styles. Nozzles, hose, attachments, formulae, 
every spraying acoeesory. Write for free catalog. 
The Doming Co., Salem, O. t 
Wettcm Agent*, Uenum $ Uubbell, Chicago. 
WANTED. 
To send to every town sample of the 
new “ Kant-Klog " Sprayer. First 
applicant gets wholesale prices and 
agency. Big money made with sprayers 
dnrlngwinter. Fullpartlcularsfree. 
Address, Rochester Spray Pump Co., 
16 East Avk,, Rochester, N.Y. 
4 Methodist Preacher 
THE 
or any other preacher can spray with our 
Separator Attachment. 
Because we guarantee the nozzles 
will never clog or work poorly. 
What mixture is used. 
What kind or style of pump is used. 
What kind or how many nozzles 
(. are used. Send for Catalogue. 
PIERCE - LOOT SPRAYER CO. 
North East, l’a. 
WHY?] 
No Matter! 
The Auto-Spray 1 
is everybody’s sprayer—suits every 
job. Brass pump, brass or galvanized 
iron tank. Compress air on mixture 
v/ith a dozen plunger strokes, strap 
, on back, and spray % acre vines, f 
1 Great new feature in Auto-Pop at- 
| tachment. Controls spray perfectly. 
Saves half the mixture. Nozzle abso¬ 
lutely clean every time Auto-Pop is worked. 
Only nozzle that can’t clog. We manufacture 
the largest line in America of high grade and 
power eprayera. Ask for free catalogue. 
E. C. BROWN CO., S 
26B Slate St., Rochester, N. Y. 
A BIG CROP of FRUIT 
and DOLLARS in your pockets if you 
spray your trees and vines with the 
wonderful 
HARDIE SPRAY PUMP 
The Big Growers all recommend “THE 
HARDIE" because it maintains such 
a high pressure and 
WORKS SO EASY. 
Our catalogue tells 
all about spraying. 
It is free, send for it. 
The 
H00K-HARDIE CO. 
69 Main St. 
HUDSON, MICH. 
Get the Best 
A Good Spray Pump earns big 
profits and lasts for years. 
THE ECLIPSE 
Is a good pump. As prac¬ 
tical fruit growers we 
were using the com- 
,mon sprayers in our 
' own orchards—found 
their defects and then Invented 
• The Eclipse. Its success 
• practically forced us into man- 
■ ufacturing on a large scale. 
• You take no chances. We have 
• done all the experimenting. 
Large fully illustrated 
Catalogue and Treatise 
on Spraying — FREE. 
MORRIIX .tr MORLEY, Benton Harbor, Mich. 
9 CORDS IN IO HOURS 
~ — SAWS DOWS 
T&ns 
BY ONE DAN. It’. KING OF THE WOODS. Saree money and 
backache. Send for EKEE lllus. catalogue showing latest improve- 
meats and testimonials from thousands. First order secures seenrv. 
FM41ngSawioeMach. Co., 55 N. Jefferson St., Chicago, Ill. 
Small Potatoes 
result from a lack of 
Potash 
in the soil. Potash pro¬ 
duces size and quality. 
We have 
v al u a b1 e 
books which 
explain more 
fully the fer¬ 
tilizing value 
of Potash. 
We wil 1 
send them 
free to any 
larmer who 
writes for 
them. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Nassau St., New York. 
CANADA HARDWOOD ASHES, 
THE JOYNT BRAND 
Quantity and quality fully guaranteed, 
Write for prices and address 
JOHN JOYNT, Lucknow, Ontario, Canada* 
GAH00N 
good, the sure,the 
reliable. The one 
that for 45 years 
has been known ns 
the best. Saves % 
t.ho seed, covers us 
high ns 50 acres a 
day. Runs easily, 
sows uniformly, 
always in order. 
Write for Sower’s Manual, 
a book telling how, when and where to sow and how 
much to sow. Sent absolutely free if you write to 
Goodell Co., 14 Main St., Antrim, N. H. 
GHBN ACRES 
by clearing that stumpy piece 
lof land T11E IIKHCULKS 
Istump Puller pulls any stump* 
^Saves time, labor and money 
Catalog FREE. Hercules Mfg.Co., Dept.P.S. Centervllle.l* 
DITTO'S CEARED 
Ball Bearing 
FEED GRINDER. 
Sold on trial. We ask no 
money in advance. Try 
on your own farm, if not of 
largest capacity, easiest 
running nuu most durable, 
don’t keep it. Circulars free. 
0. M. DITTO, BOX56, JOLIET, ILL. 
^ The Hero 
Feed Grinder 
eg£! 
make 26 sizes and 
Is the best which money can buy — 
for any kind of power from 2 
to 4 or 5-horse power, because 
it grinds rapidly, making splen¬ 
did feed, table meal or graham 
flour, has AMPLE CAPAC¬ 
ITY for 4 or 5-horse power if 
properly speeded, and WILL 
NOTCHOKE DOWN THE 
LIGHTEST POWER. We 
styles, all of equal merit but varying capacity, for 
all kinds of power and for all kinds of grinding. 
Send for free catalogue of Grinders, Cutters, 
Huskers, Shellers.Wood Saws, Horse Powers, 
Wind Mills, Farm Trucks, Seeders, etc. 
Appleton Mfg. Co. 27 Fargo St., Batavia, Ill- 
A Wagon’s Worth 
depends uponits convenience and 
life. The life depends upon the 
wheel. You get every eonvenl- 
I ence of the Modern Low Handy 
[ Wagon and double its life by using 
LEGTRIC 
Metal Wheels 
For a few dollars you turn your 
old running gears or one you can 
buy for a song, into a new wagon. Straight or stag¬ 
gered oval steel spokes. The stoutest wheel you can 
buy. Any height, fit any wagon. No repairs, no rut¬ 
ting, light draft, long service. Let us send you free 
catalog to show you how it saves you money. 
Electric Wheel Company., Boi 88, Quincy, Illinois 
r WCBBSTm 
Take-Down Repeating Shotguns 
Don’t spend from $50 to $200 for a gun, when for so 
much less money you can buy a Winchester Take- 
Down Repeating Shotgun, which will outshoot and 
outlast the highest-priced double-barreled gun, 
besides being as safe, reliable and handy. Your 
dealer can show you one. They are sold everywhere^ 
FREE: Oar 160-Page Illustrated Catalogue. 
WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. N EW HAVEN, CONN. 
