1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
571 
Waterproof Cloth for Cold Frames. 
W. P. K., Westchester County, N. Y. — What 
preparation is used to make cloth waterproof, 
for the purpose of covering cold frames ? 
Ans. —The simplest process is to satu¬ 
rate the cloth with pure raw linseed oil. 
Another formula is composed of three 
pints pale linseed oil, one ounce sugar 
of lead, four ounces white resin. Grind 
the sugar of lead, and mix in a little 
oil; then add the other materials, and 
heat in an iron kettle. Apply with a 
brush while hot. 
Greenhouse Heaths. 
A. R., Boston, Mass .—From Christmas until 
Easter, our florists offer pot plants of Heath, hav¬ 
ing flesh-colored or pink flowers. Are these like 
the purple Heath covering the moors in Scotland, 
or is Scotch Heather a different plant ? How are 
these pot Heaths grown ? 
Ans. —The Heaths sold as pot plants 
are greenhouse shrubs, natives of South 
Africa, though closely related to the 
Heather, Ling, and St. Dabeoc’s heath of 
the British Islands. They all belong to 
the Erica family. The varieties usually 
grown in this country are Erica Will- 
morei, clear red, E. Cavendishiana, light 
yellow, E vestita, and E. ventricosa, the 
two latter varieties including a number 
of forms, varying in color from pale 
flesh tints to bright red. The Ericas are 
not so extensively grown in this country 
as in Europe, our climate presenting 
some difficulties, but well-grown plants 
are to be found in the vicinity of New 
York and Boston esp3cially, some of the 
Boston growers having a flue reputation 
for them. 
One of the first requisites for the suc¬ 
cessful culture of these Ericas is a cool 
greenhouse temperature at night; 38 to 
45 degrees during the winter, when they 
are growing. They require a nice fibrous 
loam mixed with peat or leaf mold and 
sharp sand. Excellent drainage is re¬ 
quired, as they need plenty of water ; if 
allowed to dry out, they will wilt, and 
rarely recover from this. They should 
not be sprayed or syringed at any time, 
all the water being applied to the pot. 
If kept in the proper temperature, there 
should be no trouble from insects, but if 
too warm and dry, Red spider will appear, 
just as it does upon their cousins, the 
Azaleas, and then strong syringing must 
be resorted to. But the Red spider is 
evidence of incorrect treatment in the 
first place. If kept in a damp, close at¬ 
mosphere,and then exposed to a draught, 
mildew is likely to appear ; the remedy 
is more careful ventilation and a dusting 
with sulphur. During the summer, the 
Ericas are treated like Azaleas; a cool 
place outside, where they are not ex¬ 
posed to the hottest sun, will give them 
a good chance to ripen their wood, and 
prepare for abundant blooom during the 
following winter. 
An Autumn Daisy. 
K. P., Passaic County, N. J .—I have noticed a 
large, daisy-like plant coming into bloom now, 
and would like to know what it is. The flowers 
are much like an Ox-eye daisy, but rather larger, 
growing in loose clusters, and the plant itself is 
almost like a bush. Can you tell me what it is ? 
Ans. —The plant is evidently Pyre- 
thrum uliginosum, sometimes called the 
Great Autumn daisy. It is one of our 
noblest autumn perennials, a beautiful 
sight when in bloom It grows from 
four to seven feet tall, looking like a 
shrub rather than a herbaceous plant, 
and is very showy when covered with 
its starry flowers. Its natural home is 
in marshy ground, where it attains its 
greatest luxuriance, but it is not fastidi¬ 
ous, and will make a good showing in 
ordinary garden soil. It is very hardy, 
and requires such treatment as we give 
to common garden perennials. Its 
period of bloom, when many summer 
flowers are on the wane, and before 
Cosmos and Chrysanthemums appear, 
makes it especially useful. Another of 
the autumn-blooming composites, equal¬ 
ly as effective, is Boltonia latisquama, a 
native plant closely related to our com¬ 
mon wild Asters. It has large starry 
flowers of a pale rosy-violet, produced 
in extraordinary profusion. This plant 
formed one of the most attractive fea¬ 
tures of the Wooded Island at the 
World’s Fair, during the autumn. It 
grew there in a light, dry soil, with a 
sunny exposure. We hardly realize how 
much beauty may be added to our gar¬ 
den by the use of native plants, until 
we see them well treated. Our native 
Asters, which make a blaze of purple 
and gold along the roadside each 
autumn, are admiringly grown as gar¬ 
den plants in Europe, and by some 
lovers of hardy plants in this country, 
but their use is still limited in compari¬ 
son with what it should be. Attention 
has been given to the improvement of 
native Asters and, as interest in these 
plants increases, we are likely to see 
greater developments in this line. 
Building a Cross-walk 
Subscriber, Connecticut. —I wish to make a 
crossing in the road opposite my house. Right 
through the center of this village, the mud is 
eight or ten inches deep, and I wish to make a 
crossing that will not be affected by the frost. I 
can get from the railroad, near by, second-hand 
railroad ties. Could these be used, and would 
coal ashes be of any service in connection with 
them ? 
Ans. —I think that the railroad ties 
would form a good foundation, provid¬ 
ing they were laid about two feet deep, 
and filled in with cracked stones to 
about six inches below the surface of 
the ground ; then apply the coal ashes 
or any other good binder. After doing 
this, it should be thoroughly rolled to 
make it smooth and compact. Our plan 
is to excavate two feet deep, then put 
one layer of large stones, next three 
layers of trap rock, and the top-dressing 
of fine crushed stone, rolled with a two- 
horse roller until completely packed. 
Essex County, N. J. chas nichols. 
The only lasting and satisfactory 
crossing for such a place as described 
above, is to dig out the earth for two 
feet, fill with stone, using fine or small 
stones for the top, and cover with gravel 
mixed with about one-fourth its bulk 
of coal ashes. This would make a solid, 
dry, durable crossing, and one which 
would not interfere with the travel of 
teams in crossing it. I think the second¬ 
hand railroad ties would be the poorest 
things to be used for that purpose. I 
assume that, as Subscriber is from Con¬ 
necticut, stones are to be had for such 
use in profusion ; if not, dig out 12 to 15 
inches of the earth the desired width, 
and fill with coal ashes, the coarser the 
better. Round up well and roll down 
Solid. EDWIN HOYT. 
Connecticut. 
. Seasonable Notes. 
Cinerarias and Calceolarias, sown in 
June and July, may be kept outside 
until the middle of October, and will 
be all the better for it. They need to 
be kept as cool as possible, but the Cin- 
MOTHERS. —Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup ” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
erarias must not be exposed to the least 
breath of frost ; their thick, succulent 
leaves will be quickly wilted by a chill. 
The same is true of Chinese primroses. 
These three plants dislike the heat of 
our summers, and for this reason a cool 
corner outside suits them best. They 
must all be shifted into roomier pots be¬ 
fore they begin to show signs of being 
potbound, as it is very necessary that 
they receive no check to growth. 
Complaints of the disease attacking 
bulbs of outdoor lilies have been numer¬ 
ous this year. Various fungicides have 
been tried for this. One grower reports 
having taken up bulbs of Lilium candi- 
dum in July last year and the year be¬ 
fore, soaked them in a copper sulphate 
solution for six hours, and then replanted 
them, after giving them a good washing 
in clear water. The solution used con¬ 
sisted of one ounce of sulphate of cop¬ 
per to one gallon of water. The result 
appears to be perfectly satisfactory; 
the bulbs appear to be free from disease 
now, and are doing well. 
One of the showiest shrubs now in 
flower is the native Trumpet vine, 
Tecoma radicans. We say shrub, rather 
than viae, because in time the plant 
grows so robust, with its stout stem, 
that no support is necessary, and it 
looks like a shrub or small tree. One 
old specimen noted makes a slender tree 
about 15 feet high, breaking into a 
fountain of flowering shoots at the top, 
while its progeny, in the form of suckers, 
appear at various points in the garden. 
The Chinese Trumpet vine, Tecoma 
grandiflora, is a showy variety with 
flowers of a rich orange. 
Cuttings of the Large-panicled Hy¬ 
drangea, made from green wood, may be 
rooted readily during July, August and 
early September, so long as the cuttings 
selected are green and sappy. The 
cuttings should be made of wood which, 
when bent over, will snap off with toler¬ 
able ease, leaving only a strip of bark 
at the opposite side. The leaves should 
be partly trimmed away, and cuttings 
inserted in a pot of sand and kept in a 
sheltered place until rooted. It is then 
planted out the same autumn and, the 
following year, if ordinary success has 
been attained, it will produce a truss of 
bloom, which looks very odd upon the 
tiny plant. The attempt is often made 
to propagate this by layers, but cuttings 
of the young wood are much more cer¬ 
tain. Care must be taken that the cut¬ 
tings are never allowed to wilt before 
inserting in the sand. The tender Hy¬ 
drangeas, such as the familiar Otaksa, 
so largely forced for Easter, are propa¬ 
gated from green shoots in June, and 
these furnish the tiny plants bearing 
one immense head of bloom, which are 
offered among florists’ pot plants. 
The difference between Cannas started 
in gentle heat before being planted, and 
those put out as dormant tubers, has 
been marked all summer, and owing to 
the unfavorable weather during the 
early part of the season, the latter have 
had no opportunity to catch up with the 
earlier growth The florists start Canna 
roots the latter part of February, put¬ 
ting them in flat boxes in three inches 
of sand, the top of the tuber even with 
the surface. The flats are then placed 
on the hot water pipes until roots are 
made, and the tubers then potted. The 
crowns are divided before starting. 
This treatment is for the showy flower¬ 
ing Cannas ; the foliage varieties are 
not usually started until March. 
Macbeth lamp-chimneys 
save nine-tenths of the cost 
and all the trouble. 
Go by the Index. 
Write Macbeth Pittsburgh Pa 
Harvest Excursions! 
■ lip O llin IT To the Farm regions 
Auu. 0 All U If. Of the West, North- 
nrnT -| inn n i west and Southwest. 
\rrl / AND / I Round trip tickets will 
vjli !■ i fliiu Aij be sold on dates named 
fiPT R AND IQ at all C., B. &Q. stations 
UU 1 1 J HI1U I J. and at many Eastern 
points at about half fare, good for ‘21 days. Stop 
over allowed on going passage. Ask your local 
agent for particulars. 
GO WEST AND LOOK FOR A HOME. A handsome 
illustrated pamphlet describing NEBRASKA sent 
free on application to P. S. EUSTIS, Gen’l Pass. 
Agt., C., B. & Q. R- R-. Chicago. 
Another Chance 
for a Watch. 
Here is the best bargain we have yet 
offered in a low-priced man’s watch. It 
has seven jeweled movements, straight 
line lever escapement, cut compensated 
balance, safety pinion. Plates damas¬ 
keened in nickel. White hard enamel 
dial with depressed seconds and black 
marginal figures. The case is dust- 
proof polished silverode (that looks like 
silver and wears better). Has 10 k. gold- 
filled crown. We have secured a special 
price on a lot of these watches. The 
jobber's price is $3 50. He sells to re¬ 
tailer, and you pay $5 00 for them at the 
jewelry store You may send us one 
new subscription and $3.50, and we will 
send you the watch by return mail, and 
the paper for a year to the new sub¬ 
scriber so that the watch will cost you 
only $2 50. We guarantee this watch to 
keep good time, and return the money, 
if you are not satisfied, but you will be. 
We want the new subscriptions, and if 
you want a watch, now is the time to get 
it. The Rubai. New-Yorker, New York. 
How to Rid Buildings and Farms of 
Rats, Mice, Gophers, Prairie Dogs, Ground 
Squirrels, Rabbits, Moles, Weasels, Minks and 
other Pests, Quickly and Safely. How to Snare 
Hawks and Owls. Valuable Hints to House¬ 
keepers, Farmers and Poultrykeepers.20 
—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- 
bus, Ga., 1 888.__ 
HIGHEST AWARDS—St. Louis Agricultural and 
Mechanical Association, 1889. 
GOLD MEDALS and^6 DIPLOMAS^orTd^olum- 
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 Exposition, Toronto, Canada, 1895. 
345,584 Home Comfort Ranges Sold lo Jan. lst,’97 
X~P ~Range illustrated Bold 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. I.OLIS. MO., and TORONTO, CANADA. 
Western Salesrooms and offices: DENVER, COLO. 
tsr*we manufacture and carry a complete stock of Hotel Ranges and Kitchen goods; also the 
unequaled HOME COM FORT STEEL FXJJ4NACES, Write for catalogue and prices. 
