1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
395 
Arundo Donax Variegata. 
M. C. G., Worcester County, Mass.—In a collec¬ 
tion of bulbs, I received a root marked Arundo 
donax variegata, but do not know whether it is 
an outdoor or hotise plant. How should it be 
treated ? 
Ans. —The Arundo was an odd speci¬ 
men to be included in a bulb collection ; 
it is an ornamental reed with variegated 
foliage, green striped withcream-white, 
making a beautiful center for a bed of 
handsome foliage plants. It will grow 
to a height of eight or ten feet. It is 
very suitable for wet places, as the 
margins of streams or lily-ponds, but 
succeeds well in an ordinary garden 
bed, and a clump of it is extremely 
effective on the lawn. A plain green 
type (the original Arundo donax), is 
hardy when mulched, but the variegated 
form is more tender, so it should be 
taken up. Cut the reeds off close to the 
ground in the autumn, take up the 
roots and store them in a cold (but 
frost-proof), cellar ; do not let them be¬ 
come dust dry, but do not water enough 
to stimulate into growth. The ordinary 
green form should be sufficiently pro¬ 
tected, after the reeds are cut, by plac¬ 
ing a mulch of dry leaves a foot deep 
over the crown. The complaint is made, 
however, that though the roots will 
stand several successive winters in north¬ 
ern New Jersey when mulched, the 
growth is feebler year after year, until 
it finally dies out. If the root M. C. Q. 
received is really a bulb, it is not the 
Arundo; the roots of this are thick, 
tough and fleshy, but in no wise resemble 
a bulb. 
Ants in Lawn — Shrubs. 
W. J. M., Chautauqua County, JV. Y.—l. How 
can I get rid of ants in the lawn without destroy¬ 
ing the grass and plants ? 2. What two shrubs 
would you recommend for a cemetery lot ? I want 
one to be in bloom on Decoration Day, and the 
other to come into bloom soon after, and continue 
the rest of the summer. 3. Is the Magnolia hardy 
in western New York ? If hardy, would it be de¬ 
sirable for a cemetery ? 
Ans. —1. To destroy ants in the lawn, 
W. J. M. must first find where they come 
from, and then destroy their nest. To 
do this, pour bisulphide of carbon into 
each opening of the nest, closing 
the openings by stepping on them as 
treated. The fumes will penetrate the 
nest in every direction, not only killing 
the adult ants, but the larvae as well. 
Sometimes, when the colony is very 
large, it may be that some part escapes, 
and the ants reappear; in such case a 
second application will prevent any 
further trouble. It is sometimes recom¬ 
mended that, after the bisulphide is 
poured into the nest, the vapor be ex¬ 
ploded by means of a match held on the 
end of a stick. This completely wrecks 
the colony, the poisonous vapor being 
forced all through the nest, which it 
wrecks so completely, that the larvae 
have no chance of making their way to 
the surface. It must be remembered, 
however, that the vapor of the bisul¬ 
phide is extremely inflammable, and 
great care must be taken in igniting it. 
2. A number of our shrubs are in 
bloom about Decoration Day ; perhaps 
MOTHERS.— Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup ” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adtv. 
the very best thing for your purpose 
would be Viburnum plicatum, the Chi¬ 
nese snowball. This is the handsomest 
of all the snowballs, the flowers being 
more refined in effect than the common 
snowball or Guelder rose (V. Opulus var. 
sterilis). The foliage is also handsomer, 
and the habit of the plant attractive 
when out of bloom. It is reliably hardy 
and well suited for cemetery use. For 
second choice, we would select Spiraea 
Van Houttei or S. Beevesii, both of 
which are a mass of snowy flowers the 
end of May or early in June. The sec¬ 
ond shrub inquired for by W. J. M.—one 
to continue in bloom all the rest of the 
summer—is more difficult to suggest, 
for most of our showy shrubs give a 
profusion of bloom at one season, and 
then subside into foliage for the rest of 
the summer. However, the white variety 
of Fortune’s Spiraea, Spiraea callosa 
alba, keeps in flower all summer, and 
makes a neat, compact dwarf shrub. A 
fine thing, blooming in August and Sep¬ 
tember, is Hydrangea paniculata gran- 
diflora, and this will make a great show. 
By pinching out a few of the buds, when 
the shrub first makes growth, the bloom¬ 
ing season is prolonged. The flowers 
last a long time on the plant. 
3. Magnolias are certainly suitable 
for cemetery planting, where there is 
sufficient space for them ; the average 
lot is rather restricted for trees, unless 
they are planted with reference to a 
general landscape plan. The Cucumber 
magnolia, M. acuminata, makes a noble 
pyramidal tree 60 to 90 feet high. It has 
large, rich green leaves, and yellowish 
flowers, tinged on the outside with pur¬ 
ple. This is said to be not reliably 
hardy north of Buffalo, but should 
stand the winter in western New York. 
We have seen specimens near Chicago. 
When young, however, it would be wise 
to give winter protection. Probably, 
however, W. J. M. has in mind some of 
the Chinese species, often seen in gar¬ 
dens. The most familiar of these is the 
Yulan magnolia, M. conspicua, with 
large, pure white flowers produced be¬ 
fore the leaves. While young, it is 
shrub-like, but in time becomes a tree. 
M. Soulangeana, somewhat similar to M. 
conspicua, has white flowers tinged 
with purple on the outside, and three to 
five inches in diameter. Another very 
beautiful and hardy variety is Hall’s 
Japan magnolia, M. stellata. This is 
dwarf in habit, producing a quantity of 
pure white, semi-double, fragrant flow¬ 
ers early in April. These three varie¬ 
ties should be hardy with W. J. M., but 
should not be put in an exposed situa¬ 
tion and, while young, some protection 
should be given during the winter, to 
prevent their being cut back too severely. 
Seasonable Notes. 
A very good show is made by the Pyre- 
thrums, single and double. To many, 
the name Pyrethrum only recalls the 
familiar insect powder made from some 
varieties of the plant, but the beautiful 
pink and crimson are among the finest 
in the herbaceous garden. The double 
varieties are propagated by division in 
early spring, or in August ; the single 
by division or seed. 
The mignonette sown outside is now 
blooming freely, and the more we cut 
the bloom the better, for it soon runs to 
seed. Snapdragons should now be in 
good bloom ; the seed was sown last 
year, and the plants wintered over, 
being planted out in April. The large 
white variety is especially handsome. 
Our garden roses are already suffer¬ 
ing quite severely from insect attacks, 
and constant vigilance is required to 
obtain good blooms. The familiar green 
flies or aphides have multiplied rapidly 
in the warm, humid weather, but they 
are easily controlled by tobacco in the 
form of decoctions or snuff, or by kero¬ 
sene emulsion. More troublesome than 
these are the Rose-chafers, which ap¬ 
pear this month, small dark-colored 
beetles, feeding by preference on the 
blooms of roses and grape vines. Some 
years they appear in almost countless 
numbers ; other seasons they are less 
prevalent. They utterly ruin the flowers, 
disfiguring and mutilating a large pro¬ 
portion of them. Bordeaux Mixture is 
obnoxious to them, but hand picking is 
really the best remedy. An open- 
mouthed vessel, containing several 
inches of water, with a coating of kero¬ 
sene on the top, should be carried, and 
the beetles jarred into this. The same 
process must be gone through later, 
when the China asters are in bloom, for 
the destruction of the Black blister- 
beetle, which devours these flowers most 
voraciously. On ground where the Rose- 
chafer appears, some benefit is obtained 
by turning over the earth quite deeply, 
with spade or plow, in early spring, thus 
destroying many of the pupae just chang- 
ind into adult form. 
Rose slugs, which skeletonize the 
leaves, are easily poisoned by White 
hellebore, either a decoction made in 
the proportion of one ounce of the 
powder to one gallon of water, or the 
dry powder dusted over the infested 
leaves. When used dry, the powder 
may be either pure, or mixed with more 
than its bulk of flour. Complaint is 
made this year of the ravages of a tiny 
white grub, which bores into the lower 
part of the rosebuds, arresting the de¬ 
velopment of the flower. This seems 
likely to be the larva of one of the 
“ horn-tail ” flies, which often attack 
raspberry and blackberry canes. The 
only advice to be given is to pluck off 
and destroy any bud showing signs of this 
visitant. The Rose leaf-roller is a more 
familiar trouble, spinning and folding 
together the foliage. Spraying with 
kerosene emulsion is advised, and it is 
always wise to pluck off and burn the 
affected leaves. 
Seeding a Lawn. 
Charles Nichols, Supt. Fairmount 
Cemetery, Essex County, N. J.—Your 
article in issue of May 29, “ A Neglected 
Lawn,” is replete with common-sense 
suggestions. To have a good lawn, the 
work must be started in good form, 
ground well pulverized and raked 
smoothly after having been carefully 
dug and well manured. After seeding, 
it should be rolled, and some chemical 
fertilizer applied to give growth. We 
have had a large experience in seeding 
for grass, as we usually seed some acres 
every year, and the best results have 
been obtained by seeding during the 
month of September, which we find to 
be the best time with us. We always 
use Kentucky Blue grass and Red-top, 
which have never failed to give us a 
splendid yield of grass. 
A ten-cent lamp with the 
right chimney gives more light 
and less smell than a $100 
lamp with a wrong chimney. 
What is the right chimney ? 
What lamp have you got ? 
We’ll send you an Index; 
free. 
Geo A Macbeth Co 
Pittsburgh Pa 
'■ of Hires Rootbeer 
on a sweltering hot 
day is highly essen¬ 
tial to comfort and 
health. It cools the 
blood, reduces your 
temperature, tones 
the stomach. 
HIRES 
Rootbeer 
should be in every 
home, in every 
office, in every work¬ 
shop. A temperance 
drink, more health¬ 
ful than ice water, 
more delightful and 
satisfying than any 
other beverage pro¬ 
duced. 
Made only by the Charles E. 
Hires Co., Philadelphia. A pack¬ 
age makes 5 gallons. Sold ev¬ 
erywhere. 
Ball < 
Bearing ( 
) That’s The Trick 
that makes the 
< Peoria 
> 
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Washer) 
run so easy. No other like it. A child ^ 
can run it. Quick, thorough, and does w 
no damage to the finest fabrics. L 
. Booklet Free. 
Cl.A RK, QUIRN & MORSE, 
V 315 W. St., Peoria, Ill. v 
Wanted-An Idea 
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Protect your ideas: thev may bring you wealth. 
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■v—VICTORIES_ *■ 
FOUR MEDALS—3 Gold and 1 Silver, World’s Centennial 
Cotto n Exposition, New Orleans , 1884. 
HIGHE ST AWARDS—Nebraska Agricultural Fair , 1887. 
DIPLOMA—Alabama Agr’l Society, Montgomery, 1888. 
I AWARD—Chattahoochie Valley Exposition. Colum¬ 
bus, Ga., 1888. 
1 I 
HIGHEST AWARDS—St. Louis Agricultural and 
M echanical Association, 1889. _ 
GOLD MEDALS and 6 DIPLOMAS—World’s Colum- 
bla n Exposition. Chicago, 1893. _ 
.HIGHEST AWARDS—Western Fair Association, Lon¬ 
don, Canada, 1893. 
copi 
kONNtUl 
p£.e 
pttttii;: 
i 
| SIX GOLD MEDALS and Diplomas—California Midwinter Fair ’94 
. SILVER MEDAL —Industrial Exposition, Toronto, Canada, 1895. 
345,584 Home Comfort Ranges Sold to Jan. 
| rer Range Illustrated sold throughout the United States and 
the Canadas at a uni form price from our ow n wagons. 
Slade of open hearth, cold rolled steel-plate and malleable 
I iron —will last a life-time with ordinary care. 
WROUGHT IRON RANGE CO., 
Founded 1884. Paid-up Capital 81,000,000. 
Factories, Salesrooms and Offices: ST. LOUIS, MO., and TORONTO, CANADA. 
Western Salesrooms and offices: DENVER, COLO. 
We manufacture and carry a complete stuck of Hotel Ranges and Kitchen goods. also the 
unequaled ROME COM FORT STEEL FURNACES. Write for catalogue and prices. 
