1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
539 
Striped Hoses, 
J. R., Monmouth County, N. J.— Are there any 
roses striped in contrasting colors ? I have seen 
them advertised, but would like to know whether 
they are really as described. 
A ns. —Yes, there are several striped 
roses, one of those best known in this 
country being American Banner. This 
was a sport from the carmine-pink Bon 
Silene, the petals being striped with 
white. The colors are not always very 
clearly defined, so that to most observ¬ 
ers, the flower presents a somewhat 
faded appearance. Many amateurs, how¬ 
ever, like the oddity of the striped roses, 
so American Banner retains a certain 
popularity with them, though consid¬ 
er* d of no value by most florists. It is 
not uncommon to find a solid pink Bon 
Silene flower upon an American Banner 
plant, all such sports having a tendency 
to revert to the parent form, though 
the variegated type is fixed by propa¬ 
gation. 
Crimson Rambler Rose. 
It., Kansas. —What kind of soil is suitable for 
the Crimson Rambler rose ? On our black prairie 
land, it has a stunted, scalded appearance, while 
Mary Washington and the Empress of China, 
close by, are making a rampant growth. A 
friend who has had one more than a year, has 
tried various amounts of r shade, but still the 
little sickly bush won’t ramble. So we conclude 
that we must furnish the proper soil, or give it 
up as a failure. 
Ans. —The fact that Mary Washington 
and Empress of China are doing well 
under the same conditions, leads us to 
suppose that the trouble is not due to 
the soil. Many complaints were made 
last year of poor and stunted growth of 
the Crimson Rambler, but in most cases, 
such trouble was due to the weakliness 
of the plants. It is an unfortunate fact 
that, in the eagerness to obtain stock, 
many new plants are weakened by over¬ 
propagation, and this appears to have 
been the case with some of the Crimson 
Rambler plants sent out during the past 
two years. Feeble growth and a ten¬ 
dency to mildew resulted from this R. 
and his friend should see that the situa¬ 
tion selected for the roses is well- 
drained, and sufficiently open to give a 
good circulation of air. If the soil is 
very heavy and tenacious, it would be 
brought into better condition by trench¬ 
ing. But if the other roses named are 
in precisely the same situation, the 
Crimson Rambler plants are suffering 
from constitutional weakness, which 
they may outgrow by another season. 
Monkey-Puzzle Tree. 
L. J., Hampshire County, Mass.— What is the 
Monkey-puzzte tree? I have heard of it as a 
house plant. What is its real name, and why has 
it received this popular title ? 
Ans. —The Monkey-puzzle is a popular 
name given to Araucaria imbricata, the 
Chili pine. It is a handsome evergreen, 
with deep green, stiff, pointed imbricate 
leaves ; that is, they closely overlap one 
another like the shingles on a roof. The 
tree branches in a very angular manner 
which, combined with the stiffiy-set 
leaves, makes it almost impossible for 
an animal to climb it; hence the name 
of Monkey-puzzle. In Chili, it grows to 
be a noble tree from 50 to 100 feet high, 
but here it is seen in small dimensions 
as a greenhouse decorative plant. It 
makes an admirable house plant for cool 
rooms or corridors, though not quite so 
much in use as its near relation, the Nor¬ 
folk Island pine, Araucaria excelsa. 
This, with flat, feathery branches ar¬ 
ranged in regular tiers, makes a par¬ 
ticularly handsome plant. The ordinary 
variety is a rich deep green in color, 
but there is a glaucous form, whose foli¬ 
age is shaded with frosty silver. Several 
other handsome varieties have been in¬ 
troduced from Australasia, all of which, 
while growing from 50 to 100 feet tall in 
their native land, are seen with us as 
greenhouse shrubs. They are not hardy 
in the northern States, but their stately 
growth, rich color and freedom from in¬ 
sects or disease, make them valuable as 
decorative plants. 
Seasonable Notes. 
Among popular foliage plants for the 
house, the Screw pine is always a favor¬ 
ite, both the comparatively common va¬ 
riety, having green leaves edged with 
sharp reddish spines (Pandanus utilis), 
and the handsome Pandanus Veitchii, 
variegated in strongly defined stripes of 
bright green and ivory white. Complaint 
is often made of disease affecting Pan¬ 
danus utilis, the leaves turning brown 
and rusty until, by degrees, the whole 
plant is affected, finally dying. The 
primary cause of this trouble is, with¬ 
out doubt, over-watering, resulting in a 
sour and sodden soil, which destroys the 
fine roots. Whenever this condition be¬ 
gins to show itself on the leaves, the 
amount of water given should be les¬ 
sened at once, neither must water be 
permitted to lodge in the heart of the 
plant, as this is very likely to cause a 
rot there. The Variegated Screw pine 
seems less susceptible to this trouble 
than Utilis, and its irregular variega¬ 
tion, which sometimes produces a leaf 
entirely white, another entirely green, 
makes it very showy as a house plant. 
These plants do not like excessive 
heat, a winter temperature of 50 to 
60 degrees being sufficient. They should 
be potted in a sandy loam, with a slight 
admixture of leaf mold. 
Another of the less common foliage 
plants for the house is the Bowstring 
hemp (Sanseviera Zeylanica) which has 
thick, stiff sword-shaped leaves, marked 
in irregular horizontal bars of dark 
green and silvery gray. It is a very odd¬ 
looking plant, and though it properly 
belongs in a stove temperature, it is 
tough enough to withstand the changes 
of a living room, and may be plunged 
outside in a sunny situation during the 
warm months. A light but fibrous loam 
suits this plant and, like the Screw 
pines, it must not be over-watered. 
This plant is often used as a centerpiece 
in large garden vases, bearing the dry 
exposed situation well. 
The aquatic garden will now begin to 
repay the care expended on it. Where 
there is no pond or stream for aquatic 
plants, a modest home may be found for 
them in a tub or half-barrel. A great 
many water lilies may be grown in this 
way, and even the stately Lotus does 
not disdain such restricted quarters; but 
it is, perhaps, wiser to select smaller 
plants. The Water hyacinth has been 
mentioned before in The R. N.-Y.; this 
is one of the most easily-grown aqua¬ 
tics, and will soon fill a tub, spreading 
very rapidly, and producing an abun¬ 
dance of its pale purple spikes. The 
Water poppy (Limnocharis) is another 
fine plant for such use; it produces a 
profusion of poppy shaped, pale yellow 
flowers, held up on straight stalks above 
the surface of the water. In preparing 
MOTHERS. —Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup ” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
for such plants, the tub or hogshead 
should be partly filled with rich loam, 
leaving a depth of about 12 inches for 
the water. A thin layer of clean sand 
on the top of the earth will prevent the 
water from getting muddy. The Water 
poppy and Water hyacinth are allowed 
to float, only the tips of the roots being 
caught in the earth. As the water evap¬ 
orates, the tub is filled up, and this is, 
practically, all the care required. 
Azaleas, placed outside for the sum¬ 
mer, have not ripened their wood very 
much so far, owing to the continued 
wet. Care should be taken that their 
position is well drained, so that they do 
not stand in water. The pots should be 
lifted at intervals both for the purpose 
of seeing that the drainage is correct, 
and to break off wandering roots. 
Abundant bloom cannot be obtained 
from azaleas unless the wood is well 
ripened during the preceding summer. 
Pancratiums or Crinums, sold as 
“ Snider lilies ” or “ Peruvian Daffodils,” 
have finished their bloom and should 
now be resting. They are not taken out 
of the pots, but merely stood aside in a 
sheltered place, receiving very little 
water, until the end of September. They 
do not require repotting every year, once 
in two or three years being sufficient. 
Frequent shifts will excite the bulb to 
exhaust itself in continued growth, 
rather than in making flower buds. 
Some of the outdoor chrysanthemums 
are suffering quite severely from aphis 
or greenfly, and should be sprayed with 
tobacco water or well sprinkled with 
tobacco dust. Black spot is another 
trouble that seems to be affecting these 
plants to a greater degree than usual 
this summer ; the affected leaves should 
be plucked off and burned, and if the 
trouble continue, spraying with one of 
the copper fungicides should be resorted 
to. As the flower buds show, it is well 
to remove some of them, even though 
there is no intention of restricting the 
shoot to one bloom. But if half the lit¬ 
tle buds are removed, there will be a 
handsomer spray than where all are 
allowed to mature. The buds selected 
for removal are gently rubbed out while 
very tiny, before they are the size of 
peas. If a quantity of soft, fleshy shoots 
or suckers have formed around the main 
plant, it will be well to remove these 
also. Chrysanthemums under glass must 
have the side shoots pinched off, the 
plant being reduced to the strongest 
growths. It is possible to lift and pot 
some of those planted out; do this about 
the first week in September. Let them 
become a little dry, then water a few 
hours before lifting. Lift carefully 
with a digging fork, to avoid losing any 
fine roots. Keep them well watered 
when in the pots, spraying the foliage 
three or four times a day. They must 
be kept indoors from the time they are 
potted. The soil should be well enriched 
and a good sprinkling of bone dust added. 
Without Macbeth lamp- 
chimneys, you throw away 
money and comfort. But get 
the right one for your lamp. 
The Index free. 
Write Macbeth Pittsburgh Pa 
Harvest Excursions! 
A IIP 0 A AIH II To the Farm regions 
AUU. 0 AnU I /, of the West, North¬ 
er nr ■» a |in ni west and Southwest. 
\rrl / / I Round trip tickets will 
X«L'* l 7 be sold on dates named 
OPT RANH Q at all C., B. & Q. stations 
Ulll. U HI1U I J, and at many Eastern 
points at about half fare, good for 21 days, stop 
over allowed on going passage. Ask your loeal 
agent for particulars. 
GO WEST AND LOOK FOR A HOME. A handsome 
illustrated pamphlet describing NEBRASKA sent 
free on application to P. S. EDSTIS, (ien'l Pass. 
Agt., C., B. & Q. R. R.. Chicago. 
A FARM LUXURY. 
With milk selling in the country at 
one cent a quart and cream in propor¬ 
tion, there is no cheaper or more de¬ 
licious luxury than a plate of ice cream, 
and there are no other people in the 
world who can have it with all its rich¬ 
ness and smoothness and freshness and 
delicacy as can the farmer and his fam¬ 
ily. This we know from actual experi¬ 
ence. The strange thing about it is 
that many farmers sell the milk at one 
cent a quart and buy ice cream at 30 
cents a quart, and then take an article 
inferior to that which they could make 
themselves right on the farm. All you 
want is a little ice and a four-quart 
White Mountain Freezer. We have 
made arrangements to get one for each 
of our readers that wants it this month. 
Get one of your neighbors to give you a 
dollar for a year’s subscription to The 
Rural New-Yorker, send his name and 
address and S3.25 and we will have the 
freezer sent you at once, and the paper 
will be sent your neighbor for a year. 
This is the exact cost of the freezer, so 
you see we pay you liberally for getting 
the new subscription. This freezer is 
made by the White Mountain Freezer 
Co., at Nashua, N. H., and we will 
guarantee it to give perfect satisfaction. 
This is an especially liberal offer and is 
only good until August 15 It will 
positively not be repeated after that date 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. New York 
-v_VICTORIES_ 
FOUR MEDALS—3 Gold and 1 Silver, World’s Centennial 
Cotton Exposition, New Orleans, 1834. 
HIGHEST AWARDS— Nebras k a Agricultural Fa k, 1887. 
DIPLOMA—Alabama Agr’l Society, Montgomery, 1888. 
AWARD—Chattahoochie Valley Exposition, Colum- 
bus , Ga, , 1888._ 
HIGHEST AWARDS—St. Louis Agricultural and 
Mechanical Association, 1089. 
GOLD MEDALS and 6 DIPLOMAS—World’s^Colum- 
bian Exposition, Chicago. 1893. 
HIGHEST AWARDS—Western Fair Association, Lon¬ 
don, Canada, 1893. 
SIX GOLD MEDALS and Diplomas—Cal. Midwinter Fair’94. 
SILVER MEDAL—Industrial Exposi tion. Toronto, Canada, 1895. 
345,584 Homo Comfort Ranges Sold to Jan. lst,’97 
IlfRange illustrated sold throughout the United States and 
the Canadas at a uniform price from our own 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 1864. Paid up Capital $1,000,000. 
Factories, Salesrooms and Offices: ST. 1,0 CIS, MO., and TORONTO, CANADA. 
Western Salesrooms and offices: DENVER COI.O. 
IWWe manufacture and carry a complete stock of Hotel Ranges and Kitchen goods; also the 
unequaled HOME COMFORT ttTEEJL, FRKXAC£S. Write for catalogue and prices. 
