1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
443 
Carpeting Plant Under Shrubs. 
K. Bergen County , N. ./.—What plant can I 
line to carpet bare spaces under shrubs ? Grass 
does not grow, and the bare spots look very 
unsightly. 
Ans. —Try the common Japanese 
honeysuckle. Small plants, put 12 inches 
apart, soon make a carpet of green. 
This honeysuckle is thus used in large 
stretches of shrubbery planting at the 
Arnold Arboretum, Boston, and is found 
most satisfactory. In the spring, some 
of the straggling branches of the pre¬ 
vious year are cut off with a sharp 
scythe. No other care is given, and the 
honeysuckle grows so closely that no 
weeds spring up. A few flowers appear, 
but the luxuriant foliage is itself a 
beautiful carpet. 
Oriental Poppy. 
than the center. The heating pipes are 
arranged along the sides of the walks. 
A house for flowering plants has even 
greater need for abundant sunlight than 
a vegetable house during the dull win¬ 
ter days, and here again we should think 
the eastern exposure suggested by J C. 
inadvisable. A southern slope is excel¬ 
lent. The house should run east and 
west, though one fine range of com¬ 
mercial houses near New York, built on 
a southern slope, runs north and south, 
giving quite a steep slope to both walks 
and benches. This has several incon¬ 
veniences, one disadvantage being the 
difficulty in arranging the heat circula¬ 
tion. The house should be built three- 
fourths span, preferably 16 or 18 feet 
wide, with one narrow bench on either 
side, and a wider one in the center. If 
a miscellaneous collection of plants is 
to be grown, it would be wise to divide 
the length J. C. proposes into two com¬ 
partments, that they may be kept at 
different temperatures. A small, hot- 
water boiler should be used ; the warmer 
house should be next to the boiler, and 
have two additional pipes. A valve 
should be placed on the flow pipes where 
they enter the cooler house, so that the 
temperature may be controlled. The 
benches are, of course, level, but rise 
one above the other like steps. The 
best pitch for such a house is 7}£ inches 
to the foot. 
C. W. A'., Bristol County, Mass .—What care 
should the Oriental poppy receive in winter ? 
Ans —The Oriental poppy is a hardy 
perennial, and requires little special 
care during the winter. In the autumn, 
when the perennials die down, a loose 
mulch of well-rotted manure may be put 
over the surface of the bed, this to be 
forked into the ground in spring. The 
Oriental poppies root deeply, so they 
stand drought well. Handsomer than 
the type of Papaver Orientale is the 
variety bracteatum, by some botanists 
treated as a separate species. This has 
a stiff er stalk than the ordinary Oriental 
poppy, more fully clothed with foliage ; 
the flowers are six to nine inches across, 
glowing scarlet, with a large purple- 
black spot at the base of each petal in¬ 
side. Recent hybrids promise us almost 
as great a variety in color among the 
Oriental as the Opium poppies. 
Side hi 11 Greenhouse. 
J. G., Macomb County , Mich .—I wish to build a 
greenhouse on a hill sloping to the east. I can 
drain it four feet down, and shall build a brick 
cellar 16x20 feet. I intend to build my green¬ 
house from that about 16 feet wide and eight rods 
long. Would it not make it better to take out 
three feet of earth the entire length ? Could you 
give me some idea of how to heat it inexpens¬ 
ively ? 
Ans. —J. C. does not say whether he 
wants to use his house for flowers or 
vegetables, and this would modify the 
answer. Sidehill greenhouses for vege¬ 
table growing are often built on a slope 
facing the south, but we do not like the 
idea of facing the east. In the dark 
days of winter, when every ray of sun¬ 
shine is needed, the east slope would be 
a distinct disadvantage. We do not 
understand J. C.’s reference to a cellar, 
unless a boiler pit is meant; of course, 
there would be no cellar under the 
greenhouse. 
The usual sidehill houses, which, of 
course, run across the slope, are a 
species of lean-to, and are found desir¬ 
able in vegetable growing. They should 
be placed upon a hillside having a slope 
of 25 degrees. Each section consists of 
a lean-to structure any width from 10 to 
25 feet. The sash bars are laid at the 
same angle as the slope of the hill. If 
only one house is built, a walk is cut 
down the center, the natural earth be¬ 
ing left to make solid beds. Where 
several houses are built side by side, the 
walk may be at the south side rather 
Matrimony Vine for a Hedge Plant. 
M. O. W., Toi.kdo, 0.—There are sev¬ 
eral varieties of the Lycium, commonly 
called Box thorn or Matrimony vine, 
but according to my experience, L. Bar- 
barum is the only one hardy with us. 
This is a very attractive vine, running 
15 to 20 feet in a season, when provided 
with such support as we would give a 
honeysuckle. It is covered with little 
purple flowers, followed by bright red 
berries, which last well into the winter. 
It will grow on any soil except white 
clay, but like most plants, appreciates 
good soil. It is easily propagated by 
layers, suckers and cuttings made in fall 
or spring. 
The Matrimony vine makes a very de¬ 
sirable hedge, being a rapid and clean¬ 
growing plant, entirely free from insects 
of any kind excepting the bees, which 
make some of the finest honey from it. 
The foliage is always attractive, also the 
berries, and it can be grown in one- 
third of the time generally needed for 
hedge plants ; its cheapness and general 
availability should make it a great fav¬ 
orite. I have been experimenting with 
it for some time, and find it valuable in 
every respect. 
R. N.-Y. — The Chinese Matrimony 
vine (Lycium Chinense), regarded by 
some botanists as a variety of L. Bar- 
barum, is perfectly hardy, and much 
more showy than the latter, the fruit 
being decidedly larger. It blooms a 
little later than Barbarum, the flowers 
being slightly different in color. There 
is reason to believe that the common old 
Barbarum, introduced to Europe from 
Africa in 1696, is often confused with 
the real Chinese variety so much super¬ 
ior to it. The greatest fault of the 
Matrimony vine, in our opinion, is the 
straggling habit ; it is a sprawling 
shrub, rather than a vine. The com¬ 
plaint is also made that, when growing 
on a porch or piazza, the leaves stain 
the woodwork by rubbing against it. 
The Chinese plant makes a fine show in 
the fall if trained up to a pole, the 
branches being allowed to droop. When 
the fruit is ripe, the effect is very good 
in this position. While this vine may 
often be used to great advantage, we 
MOTHERS. —Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup ” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Ada. 
consider it hardly refined enough for use 
as a climber on or around the house. 
Seasonable Notes. 
Among the shrubs, the early Spirteas, 
now out of bloom, should receive any 
necessary pruning. Deutzia gracilis, 
each season a mass of flowers, is past, 
but the double form of Deutzia crenata 
is now a mass of bloom. This shrub 
is often noted in bad condition for 
want of pruning; if not properly 
trimmed after flowering, it is disfigured 
by straggling growth and dead wood, 
and the same is true of the Diervillas 
(Weigelas). 
The owner of a cool greenhouse should 
now sow mignonette for winter cutting. 
This is not at all an easy plant to trans¬ 
plant, therefore, sow by preferance in a 
bed where it may remain. A solid bed 
of earth is preferred by the mignonette, 
but it will grow well on a bench with 
about six inches of earth. When well 
up, the tiny plants must be carefully 
thinned out; a foot apart is not really 
too much for them, if they grow prop¬ 
erly. During the summer, the ventila¬ 
tors in a house containing mignonette 
should be covered with mosquito net¬ 
ting ; grasshoppers like nothing better 
than juicy young mignonette, and half 
a dozen of these insects will do almost 
as much damage as a hungry cow. 
Then, the netting will keep out the 
small white butterfly whose caterpillar 
feeds, by preference, on mignonette ; 
this is a very destructive pest. 
The first Canna to bloom in our gar¬ 
den was Pierson’s Premier, a dwarf¬ 
growing variety having a brilliant red 
flower edged with a band of golden yel¬ 
low. The first spike bore open flowers 
June 19. This was planted May 9, rather 
too early for prudence, and later in the 
month we were visited by continued 
cold storms, followed by frost, all this 
being very discouraging to Cannas. El¬ 
dorado, a green-foliaged variety having 
golden yellow flowers slightly spotted 
with pale red, was second in blooming. 
The cold, wet weather affected the foli¬ 
age of the cannas considerably, result¬ 
ing in a good many brown and withered 
leaves. Egandale, with bronze purple 
leaves, looks very much the worse; 
Black Beauty, with extremely rich deep 
purple foliage, seems less affected. This 
last is a dwarf grower and extremely 
rich in tint. A striking foliage bed may 
be obtained by filling the center with 
some tall, green-leaved Canna surround¬ 
ed by Black Beauty, with an edging of 
the green and white Abutilon Souvenir 
de Bonn. The orchid-flowered Cannas, 
Italia and Austria, have borne the cold 
well, and are growing finely, throwing 
up abundant new shoots. Under glass, 
it has been stated that they will not 
stand such copious waterings as most 
other varieties do, having a tendency to 
a species of blight in the stem tissue, 
which seems to disappear when more 
care is taken in the watering ; but, so 
far, there has been no trace of this trou¬ 
ble outside. 
i )®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®® 1 
Sewing- 
Machine 
savings 
The “New Crown” 
arc made by buying 
the New Crown Sew¬ 
ing Machine. We will 
ship it to any address 
on receipt of the fac¬ 
tory price—$19.50. To points east of the Mississippi 
we'll prepay freight. When the “New Crown" 
comes, take it home and test it thoroughly. If it 
isn't the best machine that money can make, send it 
back at our expense. We ll refund your money. 
There’s no sale unless you are satisfied. Other 
machines cost more because sold through agents who 
get big commissions. Send for our booklet, "All 
About Sewing Machines." 
Florence Machine Co., 18 Main St.* Florence. Mass. 
OA COPYR.QHT 1897, THE BATtS-WMITMAN CO., N. V 
that makes the 
f Peoria 
Ball ( 
Bearing ( 
') Thai’s The Trick / 
\ 
4 
\ 
4 
Washer) 
run so easy. No other like it. A child ^ 
can run it. Quick, thorough, and does # 
no damage to the finest fabrics. L 
Booklet Free. 
CLARK, QUIliN& MORSE, 
315 W. St., Peoria, Ill. \ 
SI DO YOU SHAVE? SI 
If so, you want a good razor—one that 
you can’t make cut you. There is only 
one such. It is the Safety. The price 
is $2. You can’t buy it any place for 
less, because it is worth it. For just one 
month—June—no longer, no shorter, we 
will let you have one for less than they 
cost us by the dozen. Any time during 
the month of June, you may send us one 
new subscription and $2, with 10 cents 
extra for postage, and we will send you 
the razor by return mail, and the paper 
for a year to the new subscriber. Of 
course, you will get $1 for the new sub¬ 
scription, so the razor will cost you only 
$1 besides the postage. This will hold 
good only for the month of June. We 
positively will not repeat this offer after 
June. If not satisfied, we will return 
the money. Now is the time to act if 
you want comfort for the rest of your 
life in shaving. 
<^VICTORIES.^* 
FOUR MEDALS—3 Gold and 1 Silver, World’s Centennial 
Cotton Exposition, New Orleans, 1884. 
HIGHEST AWARDS—Nebraska Agricultural Fair, 1887. 
DIPLOMA—Alabama Agr’l Society, Montgomery, 1888. 
AWARD—Chattahoochie Valley Exposition, Colum- 
bu s, Ga., 1888. ___ 
HIGHEST AWARDS—St. Louis Agricultural and 
Mechanical Association, 1889. 
GOLD MEDALS and 6 DIPLOMAS—World’s Cotum- 
bian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. 
HIGHEST AWARDS—Western Fair Association, Lon¬ 
don, Canada, 1893. 
SIX GOL D MEDALS and D i plomas—Cal. Midwinter Fair’9 4. 
SILVER MEDAL —Industrial Exposition, Toronto, Canada, 1895. 
3-i.’5,584 Home Comfort Kanges Mold to Jim. 1st,’97 
Range illustrated sold throughout the United States and 
the Canadas at a uni form price from our ow n wagons. 
Made of open hearth, cold rolled steel-plate and malleable 
iron —will last a life-time with ordinary care. 
WROUGHT IRON RANGE CO., 
Founded 1804. Paid up Capital $1,000,000. 
Factories, Salesrooms and Offices: ST. LOUIS, MO., and TORONTO, L’ANADA. 
Western Salesrooms and offices: DEJiVEK, COLO. 
tW'We manufacture and carry a complete stock of Hotel Ranges and Kitchen goods; also the 
unequaled 1IOM E COM FORT STEEL FURNACES, Write for catalogue and prices. 
