1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
455 
This has been the most favorable 
season for gooseberries at the Rural 
Grounds that we have had in certainly 
20 years. The plants are laden with 
fruit, and there isn’t a particle of mil¬ 
dew upon either fruit or leaves. We have 
a number of interesting new varieties to 
talk about a little later, one of them 
bearing the largest berries ever raised 
at the Rural Grounds without mildew. 
Hitherto we have regarded the Columbus 
as the best variety under trial; but now, 
unless the favorable season mislead us, 
the Columbus is no longer entitled to 
first place. 
Fkw novelties have pleased us more 
than the new St. John’s Wort, Hyperi¬ 
cum Moserianum. The first and second 
seasons, the roots (it is herbaceous) stood 
the winter without protection, but the 
plant was dead this spring. A little 
protection, we dare say, would have 
saved it. It is a marvelous bloomer, 
and its blooming industry begins early 
in the season an d lasts until cold weather. 
The flowers are of an intense yellow, 
two inches or more in diameter. 
The single-flowering Siberian almond 
to which allusion was made several 
weeks ago in this department, was sent 
to us by Prof. J. L. Budd, of Iowa State 
College (Ames). He now writes us that 
it has proved hardy far north, and en¬ 
dures drought remarkably well. It bears 
nuts similar in form to those of the 
shops, though they are scarcely edible. 
One of these was illustrated in The R. 
N.-Y. of November 3, 1894. The past 
spring, Prof. Budd crossed it with the 
pollen of the sweet almond from Califor¬ 
nia, and to make sure work, not only 
were the stamens removed before the 
buds unfolded, but all the blossoms not 
operated upon were destroyed. He hopes 
that some of the seedlings may prove 
extra hardy, yet bear sweet nuts. 
Prof. Budd says that his experience 
during the past 20 years agrees with 
Prof. Van Deman’s and our own regard¬ 
ing zinc labels written on with pencil. 
He says : 
As to the variability of zinc, we get around it 
by ordering the supply for a year of the sheet 
zinc used by chemists in the laboratory. It is 
always uniform and far more pliable than that 
sold in hardware stores. We have labels that 
have been rolled and unrolled 100 times in 10 
years, that never crack or break. To fit the 
smooth surface for the pencil mark, we lay the 
sheet to be cut up for a day or two on the moist 
cellar bottom... 
The Yellow wood. —An objection to 
this otherwise almost perfect tree—and 
we speak from upwards of 20 years’ ex¬ 
perience, having planted our specimens 
25 years ago—is that, early in the sea¬ 
son (early June), leaflets here and 
there die and fall, and this continues 
until fall. So, too, many of the leaf 
stalks continue to fall, and these are 
from six inches to a foot in length. The 
lawn, therefore, under the Yellow-wood 
should be raked at least once a week, if 
we would have the lawn as trim and 
tidy as it should be. 
Germanic Fobcer. —This radish is de¬ 
scribed by Thor burn & Co., who sent us 
the seed, as a thoroughbred new strain 
for forcing under glass, maturing in 
about 20 days after the seed is sown: “It 
is the earliest, prettiest and best of all 
the forcing sorts.” The seed was sown 
May 29, and the radishes were suitable 
size for the table June 19—21 days. They 
were of a rich, dark crimson color, twice 
as long as broad, about one inch long 
and half an inch in diameter. 
On the same day, May 29, seeds of the 
White-tipped Early Scarlet were sown. 
On June 19, these radishes were at least 
one-third larger than the Germanic. 
They vary in shape from nearly round to 
oblong. In quality, the two varieties 
are much the same. 
Zinc Labels. —Two of our readers 
have kindly replied to our inquiry how 
to prevent zinc labels from so oxidizing 
as to obscure or destroy the names 
written upon them. Mr. James R. Town¬ 
send, of New York City, says that he has 
used zinc labels lor 10 years, and has 
never had the slightest trouble in this 
respect. The secret, he says, consists in 
oxidizing the labels before using them. 
He spreads them out singly exposed to 
the rain and sun about a week ; the other 
side is then exposed for the same time. 
It will then, he says, be easier to write 
upon them, and the writing will never 
become illegible. We have never ex¬ 
posed labels in the way suggested by Mr. 
Townsend, but after the writing has 
become illegible, because of the zinc 
oxide, we have re-written the words, 
only to find that the second writing 
would, in a short time, almost entirely 
disappear. 
Mr. D. M. Andrews, of Boulder, Col., 
suggests that the trouble is probably 
due to a poor quality of zinc. He 
says that ordinary sheet zinc contains 
more or less lead, which would tend to 
hasten oxidization, while the old label 
to which we referred was, probably, 
nearly pure zinc. Mr. Andrews has had 
good success with thin, smooth, galvan¬ 
ized iron, the coating of which is pure 
zinc. For permanent labels, he is now 
using tin or iron stamped by means of 
steel dies. For herbaceous plants, these 
are attached to wire stakes, and a 
record is kept for reference. These, he 
says, can be read as long as the label re¬ 
mains . 
Acer Tricolor. —Again we would re¬ 
fer to this beautiful, variegated syca¬ 
more maple as being, all things consid¬ 
ered, the most satisfactory variegated 
tree that has ever been tried at the 
Rural Grounds. The tree was planted 
about 23 years ago, and is now about 25 
feet in height, of a beautiful round form, 
and so clothed with the beautiful leaves 
that the branches are not visible at a 
little distance. All the leaves are differ¬ 
ent from one another, being white, half 
green, half white, speckled and blotched 
in all possible ways. It is the younger 
leaves that show the third color, a rosy 
tint. A distinctive merit of this showy 
tree is that the variegation is retained 
during the entire summer. 
Veitch’s Perfection is the name of a 
new strawberry now, for the first, 
offered by James Veitch & Sons, 544 
King’s Road, Chelsea, England. It was 
pronounced by the fruit committee at 
Chiswick, as published in the Journal of 
the Royal Horticultural Society, “ of 
marvelous sweetness and flavor.” A 
first-class certificate was recommended. 
The illustration shows a berry of per¬ 
fect form two inches in diameter. 
Among our collection of Hybrid Teas 
this season—it is not extensive, to be 
sure—the comparatively new rose, Ger¬ 
maine Trochon, pleases us most. The 
buds are large, full and sufficiently 
pointed, the petals reflexed, broad and of 
fine substance. The outer petals are of 
a creamy or yellowish white, the inner 
petals j ust a tint of pinkish salmon. The 
odor is feebly that of the Tea class. The 
habit of the plant seems to be half 
climbing, the leaflets very large, five in 
number, coarsely toothed and of a glossy, 
deep green color. 
DAVY’S “IDEAL” 
Attachable 
SPRING SEAT. 
County and township agents wanted 
to sell Davy’s Ideal Attachable 
Spring Seat for Farming Imple¬ 
ments, Locomotives, Wagons, Road 
Carts, etc. Liberal commission to 
A1 men. Sample sent on receipt of 
$ 3.75 or by express C. O. D. charges 
prepaid. Write for particulars. 
A. JAMES FAKE, 
New York State Agent, 
FT. PLAIN, N. Y. 
ARMSTRONG a McKELVY 
Pittsburgh. 
BEYMER-BATJMAN 
Pittsburgh. 
DAVIS-CH AMBERS 
Pittsburgh. 
FAHNESTOCK 
Pittsburgh. 
ANCHOR ) 
}• Cincinnati. 
ECKSTEIN J 
ATLANTIC 
BRADLEY 
BROOKLYN 
JEWETT 
ULSTER 
UNION 
SOUTHERN 
SHIPMAN 
COLLIER 
MISSOURI 
RED SEAL 
SOUTHERN 
• Now York. 
■ Chicago 
St. Louis. 
JOHN T. LEWIS & BROS CO 
Philadelphia. 
M0RLEY 
Cleveland. 
SALEM 
Salem, Mass. 
CORNELL 
Buffalo. 
KENTUCKY 
Louisville. 
T HESE brands ol White Lead 
(see list) are not made by 
any patent or quick process, but 
by the “ old Dutch ” process ol 
slow corrosion. They are the 
best; are the standard, and have 
been for years. Protect your in¬ 
terests by making sure the brand 
is right. 
CODC By using National Lead Co.’s Pure White Lead Tinting Col- 
l - * 1^ r 1 I - * ors, any desired shade is readily obtained. Pamphlet giving 
11 va |„able information and card showing samples of colors free ; 
also cards showing pictures of twelve houses of different designs painted in 
various styles or combinations of shades forwarded upon application to those 
intending to paint. 
National Lead Co., i Broadzvay, New York. 
vv. & c. 
Hook is worth a 
The “Hang” of a Hoe ? 
is important to the man who uses one all day. The W. 4, C. “Ivan Hoe” j 
Jias just the proper “hang.” A proper tool in every respect— I 
best selected ash handle—all special steel—mirror finished 
Jllade. All the W. *fc C. Farm and Garden Tools—hoes, 
rakes, forks, wheelbarrows, tool handles, etc., have the ( 
newest shapes and latest improvements. Ask 4 
IThe the dealer for them. 4 
.\VitlilngtonAc, Cooley Mfjg. Co. ^ 
great deal to any farmer or gardener, yet 
It is mailed free if you write for it. 
Jackson, Midi. 
STEEL 
BETTENDORF AXLE CO • 419 to 431 W. FRONT STREET, DAVENPORT, IOWA. 
GOOD FEr 
.■OR A_ 
that can’t blow down nor burn up; that 
turns all kinds of stock without Injury; that 
can’t sat; because it takes up its own slack by 
expanding; and contracting; bb required; 
a fence which meets every requirement 
of a farm fence—buy the KEYSTONE. 
25 to 58 inches high. Fully described In our 
free book on fence construction. Send for it. 
Keystone Woven Wire Fence Co., 
No. 1 9 Rush Street, Pkohja, III. 
•••*•••••••*•••«•••«••••••••• 
HARTMAN’S 
STEEL PICKET FENCE. 
HANDSOME 
ENDURING 
STRONGER THAN IRON. 
CHEAPER THAN WOOD. 
HANDSOMERTHAN EITHER. 
Made from the best steel wire and woven into a hand¬ 
some fence,which when constructed with our ornamen¬ 
tal steel posts adds greatly to tho beauty of the lawn, 
flower garden or the cemetery lot. The ideal fence for 
enclosing Public Grounds, Church Yards, Court Yards, 
School Grounds, etc. Catalouguo and Circulars Fukk. 
HARTMAN MFG. CO., ELLWOOD CITY, PA., or 
Manhattan Bldg., Chicago. 227 Broadway, N.Y. 
BOWEN 
. CABLE STAY FENCE CO, 
<T I fl For a machine to build 
4) I U the cheapest strongest 
and best fence made of wire. 
No royalties, no farm rights, 
machine easily and quickly 
operated by any farmer. 
Bend for large circulars 
NORWALK .O. 
WHO’S SHELLABERGER ? 
He's the Wire Fenee Man, of Atlanta, Qa., and seiia 
the best and cheapest fencing In exlstenoe for all pur¬ 
poses. Freight paid. Catalogue free. Write for It. 
K. L. SUELLABEKGEK, 7C F St., Atlanta, Ga 
steel gates, steel postsand rail, also Field and 
Hog Fence Wire, single and double farmgates. 
For further information, write to the 
No Expense For Threshing. 
There is a simple little machine on the market, 
which can be had for SI.—, with farm right to uso It. 
This tool was named “flan,’’ but if it is called “hur¬ 
ricane. - ' the work will be easier. The farmer’s 
time is nothing, and after threshing is finished, he 
can buy a little "pocket whirligig" and build fence. 
Of course the progressive farmer will not try to 
compete with steam, either In threshing or fence 
building. He uses the PAGE. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO.. Adrian, Mich. 
WOVEN .WJRE.FENGE 
1 
IWiWiTiflT 
mmmrim 
ayayayayayayayaYav 
Best on Kmrtk. llors*-Mgh, Bull- 
strong, Fig andthleken.tight. With 
our 1H.TI.KX ArTOMATlC Buklne 
youcan make 61 ) rods a day for 
12 to 20 cts. a Rod. 
Over SO styles. Catalogue Free. 
KITSELMAN BROS., 
Bo« infi. Ridgeville, Ind. 
A dry healthy cli¬ 
mate, free from 
malaria, an abun¬ 
dance of pure water, a soil 
which is unsurpassed for 
richness, and is easily culti- 
I II till vated ’ yielding all va¬ 
il m II V rieties of crops. That is 
UO a whbJ Nebraska offers to 
the home seeker. Lands 
are cheap now. Send for a pamphlet 
describing Nebraska, mailed free on ap¬ 
plication to P. S. Eustis, General Pas¬ 
senger Agent. C. B. & Q. R. R., Chicago. 
