88 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
February 9 
Ruralisms ; 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
Double Nastubtiums. —Some time 
previous to 1890 a double flowering form 
of the climbing nasturtium, Tropaeolum 
majus, was sent out by an English nur¬ 
sery, and introduced into this country 
by Peter Henderson & Oo. it is a pro- 
fuse-blooming variety of good constitu¬ 
tion, sending out rather thick, short- 
jointed twining stems with bright 
green foliage, large clear yellow blooms, 
with a few orange streaks in the center. 
It thrives particularly well as a pot or 
window plant, and is very bright and 
cheerful. The flowers last much longer 
when cut than the single varieties. It 
does not form seeds, but is easily propa¬ 
gated by cuttings or “slips” in the usual 
manner. Since the yellow variety ap¬ 
peared two others, one with dark, 
glossy, maroon, double flowers, often 
catalogued under the name of Darkness, 
and a bright orange form called Herman 
Grashof, have been disseminated from 
Europe, and are occasionally seen in 
amateur greenhouses. Herman Grashof 
is somewhat delicate, and has about 
dropped out of cultivation, but Darkness 
is still listed whenever the propagators 
get up a good stock. No account has 
been given of the origin of these pretty 
and useful nasturtiums, but it is sup¬ 
posed that they are bud sports from 
ordinary varieties of the same colors. At 
pretty regular intervals since their in¬ 
troduction the yellow and dark varie¬ 
ties have been offered to the Henderson 
Company and other well-known plants- 
men as startling novelties, by amateurs 
and growers who have worked up a 
small stock from a chance plant, and 
who are ignorant of its introduction to 
American horticulture. Fig. 34 shows a 
flower and foliage of the yellow form, 
which is on the whole the most desir¬ 
able of the three varieties. It is a poor 
and badly arranged picture, and further 
reduced in effectiveness by the wilting 
of the flower before the negative was 
taken, but it gives some idea of the 
make-up of leaf and bloom. We think 
these double nasturtiums cheerful and 
desirable plants, both for garden and 
home decoration, and commend them to 
amateurs desiring pretty and easily- 
grown plants. They seem to have fallen 
out of the latest plant catalogues, but 
the yellow variety may still be had from 
the American introducers. 
Gbeenhouse Tomatoes. —Our flrst 
Winter tomatoes were ready for the 
table January 12, as against January 3 
of last year, and were beautifully color¬ 
ed. The plants are setting heavy clus¬ 
ters, and promise a larger crop than we 
have yet secured from a similar number, 
though maturity has doubtless been de¬ 
layed by overfeeding at a too early 
stage. When well set with growing 
fruits they will bear constant stimula¬ 
tion with weak liquid manures from 
various animal sources, as well as dress¬ 
ings of wood or tobacco ashes and com¬ 
mercial phosphates or bone dust, every 
three or four weeks. Water must be 
freely given on bright days, as the im¬ 
mense leaves developed under these con¬ 
ditions are very active in exhaling mois¬ 
ture, and if the plant once flags some of 
the younger fruits are sure to be lost. 
We find pollination is practically certain 
if the petals of the open bloom are 
tapped once or twice every day with a 
light reed. There is a time in the de¬ 
velopment of every bloom when the 
pollen will fly out in a visible white puff 
if the petals are lightly switched, and 
this method seems more effective in fa¬ 
voring the perfect developments of the 
tomatoes, by fertilizing a large number 
of seed ovules, than the usual plan of 
striking the supporting strings, and 
thus indirectly jarring the blooms. Some 
growers find it profitable to catch the 
pollen from maturing blooms in a watch 
glass mounted in a wooden ha^^dle, and 
apply it to the stigmas of the younger 
flowers, claiming that larger fruits re¬ 
sult from this excess of pollen. Where 
houses are specially arranged for to¬ 
mato growing, it is practicable to get 
around among the plants and thus pol¬ 
linate the individual blooms, but if only 
a few plants are grown they are likely 
to be kept in a position difficult of ac¬ 
cess, and the method of jarring the 
blooms with a light reed, as they suc¬ 
cessively open, is proving to be very ef¬ 
fectual. 
Chickens and Cow Peas. —Our little 
field of cow peas bore a fine crop of ripe 
seeds, which were picked just before 
frost was expected. As sufficient frost 
to kill Lhe vines did not appear until 
several weeks later, a considerable num¬ 
ber of pods, immature at the time of 
picking, ripened up in good shape, and 
are still clinging to the vines. Within 
the last few weeks our chickens have 
discovered that these little black beans 
make palatable food, and spend their ex¬ 
ercise hours in scratching open the 
tough pods. The result is apparent in 
the laying record; the combined effect 
of the protein in the beans and the nec¬ 
essary exercise in the open air has plain¬ 
ly been the means of transforming the 
fat in the hitherto rather sluggish older 
hens into eggs, just when they are most 
wanted. If we could be sure of always 
having such an open Winter it would 
certainly pay to grow a patch of cow 
peas in a convenient situation for the 
chickens to harvest at their leisure in 
Winter, but much rain or snow would 
make the pods too difficult to open, and 
probably injure the feeding value of the 
seeds. The beans, which are still quite 
dry within the pods, resemble dried 
apples in their capacity for swelling up 
after the fowls have eaten them, and 
the result is an urgent demand for water 
while the process is going on. Our flock 
of 25 consumed nearly two quarts cf 
water after one of these dry feeds. This 
matter of abundance of pure, fresh water 
is as important in Winter as Summer, 
especially as much of the food eaten is 
dry and absorbent in character. The 
considerate poultry keeper will see that 
water, and not ice, is within the reach 
of his fowls even in the coldest wea¬ 
ther. The cow peas are of the Early 
Black variety, from seeds secured from 
Hope Farm. Most of our readers know 
that the cow pea is really a species of 
tropical bean. The name is now too 
well fixed to change. w. v. f. 
Native Plums in Wisconsin. 
Part I. 
The plum orchards at the Wisconsin Ex¬ 
periment Station now contain about 1,400 
native plum trees. In addition to these 
there are nearly 1,000 trees from one to 
three years old in the nursery, many of 
which will be planted in permanent or¬ 
chard rows next Spring. Of the total 
about 250 are named varieties, and the re¬ 
mainder seedlings; of the named varieties 
200 bore last year. The best of the new 
varieties, those that bore for the flrst time 
last year, are Brittlewood, Bomberger, 
Etta, Freeman, Poole’s Pride and Number 
4. Brittlewood is a very large plum of ex- 
celleJit quality of the Americana species; 
skin only moderately thick; flesh tender 
and juicy; stone small and nearly free. 
Prom Theo. Williams, Nebraska. Bom¬ 
berger is large, oblong, slightly tinged with 
purple on yellow ground; skin thin, tender 
and not at all harsh; flesh tender, sweet 
and rich; above the average in size and 
quality. Etta, large, nearly round, yellow 
striped and splashed with pale red; flesh, 
sweet and rich. A single small graft of 
one year’s growth is the only specimen in 
the orchard, and it is hardly fair to form 
conclusions from this, but the fruit borne 
was very fine, attractive in appearance and 
high In quality. Freeman, very bright 
shining red; no bloom; skin thin and ten¬ 
der; flesh crisp, juicy and having a de¬ 
lightful aromatic flavor entirely unlike 
any other plum tested. This may not 
prove a valuable market sort, but is very 
striking in appearance and has a very re¬ 
markable flavor. Poole’s Pride, a very 
good plum of the Hortulana type; better 
than Wild Goose or Pottawattamie; me¬ 
dium to large; skin thin and tender; 
flesh Arm, sweet and rich. The last one 
of the list we are obliged to record simply 
as No. 4, as it was received from Prof. 
Budd with no other title. This is a cross 
between De Soto and an unknown Japan 
variety; large to very large, oblong, slight¬ 
ly pointed; resembles Abundance In shape 
and markings; skin thick but tender; fl«sh 
orange-colored, crisp, tender, juicy and 
rich with a decided Japan flavor; free¬ 
stone; tree a poor grower, weak and droop¬ 
ing. Many other varieties fruiting for 
the flrst time, were also good, but these 
are the ones attracting most attention. 
Among the older varieties, those that have 
borne two years or more, we note the fol¬ 
lowing as especially good plums: Aitkin, 
De Soto, Hammer, Piper, Quaker, Springer, 
Surprise and Wyant. The Aitkin is only 
medium in quality, and a poor keeper, but 
is valuable as an early variety. Hammer 
is very productive and an annual bearer. 
Springer is one of the best mid-season 
plums in our collection. The Surprise is 
worthy of all the praise that it has re¬ 
ceived in regard to quality, but has proved 
a shy bearer here, with decidediy “off” 
seasons. Wyant must still be placed at 
the head of the list as the best native 
plum in our collection, hardiness, produc¬ 
tiveness and quality all considered. 
Other prominent varieties are American 
Eagle, Barnsback. Cheney, and North Star. 
American Eagle and Hawkeye are both 
very large, but poor in quality and de¬ 
cidedly unattractive when fully ripe, as¬ 
suming a dull purplish color. Cheney is 
decidedly irregular in bearing, giving a 
full crop only about every third year, and 
then overbears. Barnsback is above the 
average in quality, and a perfect freestone. 
North Star closely resembles Surprise in 
all respects; in fact, about the only point 
of difference is in the shape of the pit. 
Like the Surprise, it is a shy and irregular 
bearer. The varieties that might well be 
dropped as too small and inferior to be of 
much value are: City Deep Creek, Honey 
Homestead, Old Gold, Peach and Speer. 
Wis. Exp. Station. r. cranefield. 
When you writs advertisers mention Thi 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See eur guarantee 8th page. 
Fruit Trees, Small Fruits in¬ 
cluding Grapes. Ornamental 
Trees, Evergreens and Flower¬ 
ing Shrubs for public and 
private grounds. Shade Trees 
for streets. Hardy Roses, 
Hardy Plants, Climbers, etc. 
Our beautifully illustrated 
catalogue contains accurate and 
trustworthy descriptions of the 
choicest varieties, and is replete 
with practical hints indispen¬ 
sable to planters; it will be 
mailed free on application. 
ELLWANGER & BARRY, 
Mt. Hope Nurseries, ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
Establlxhcd over 60 VearH. 
Mention this publication. 
i Ofll ratalnrino of Trees and Plants free. 
17U1 tdldlUgUC T. C. KEVITT, Athenia. N. J 
Cyanide 
Guaranteed 98 to 99 per cent., lor generating 
Hydrocyanic Acid Gas 
the most effective fumigating material, to 
destroy scale insects on fruit trees and 
plants. The only positive eradicator of 
the dreaded San Jose Scale. Endorsed by 
all Agricultural Experiment Stations. " A 
perfect practical remedy,” says Prof. W. G 
Johnson, State Etymologist of Maryland. 
MANUFACTURKD BY 
The Roesiler & Haislacher Chemical Co., 
No. 100 William Street. New York. 
A PICTURE OF THE { 
1 Expansive Tree Protector I 
Absolutely prevents all worms and insects 
from crawling up fruit and shade trees. 
For circular, prices, etc., address 
EXPANSIVE TREE PROTECTOR CO., 
KOCHE8TEK, N. Y. 
ipr* Liberal Terms to Agents. 
GUARANTEED FRUIT 
Pearl Gooseberry, 
Erie and 
Rathbun Blackberry, 
Columbia and 
Loudon Raspberry, 
Echo Strawberry. 
Hardy, fresh-dug fruits. 
Nothing but the best. 
Guaranteed tobe as repre¬ 
sented. Send for my new 
improved catalogue, 
the most valuable pub¬ 
lished. 
ALLEN L. WOOD, Wholesale Grower, Rochester, N. Y. 
EVERGREENS 
Largest stock In Amer¬ 
ica, Including 
Colorado Blue Spruce 
and Douglas Spruce 
of Colorado. 
Also, Ornamental, 
Shade and Forest Trees, 
Tree Seeds, Etc. 
R. DOUGLAS’ SONS, 
Waukegan, 111. 
Trees 
375,000 
at Bargain Prices 
Apple, Standard and Dwarf Pear.Cherry, 
Peach and Plum trees. Japan Plums a 
specialty. Save half your money by buy¬ 
ing direct of producer. Our free cata¬ 
logue of fruit or ornamental trees will 
tell you how and why. Let ns price your 
list of wants. Established over 20years. 
Cav f Ha"^* will mail two plants of 
rUI I Uwour Fed Cross Currant. 
GREEN’S NURSERY CO., 
Rochester, N. Y. CJjJl 
Trees. Plants. 
We have all kinds of Nursery Stock. 
Catalogue Free. 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO., 
HIGHTSTOWN, N. J. 
Grape Vines 
Descriptive and Price List free. 
Carimnts, Gooseberries and other Small 
Emit Plants. Extra quality. Warranted true. 
T. S. HUBBARD CO., FRRDONIA, N. Y. 
I HEES AND PLANTS 
standard sorts of Trees and Plants. 
—Choice new varieties, such as Premo 
Dewberry, Brilliant Raspberry, Bobo¬ 
link and Marie Strawberries. Old 
Free catalogue telling about them. MYEB & SON, Bridgevllle, Del. 
OUR THREE 
York Imperial Apple and 85 
Other Varieties, 
Klcffer Pear, and 
Dewey Peach. 
I’lant these three niagniiicent var¬ 
ieties and your succes.s Is assured. 
They are ENORMOUSLY PRODUCTIVE 
and hardy; tlieir fruits especially 
LEADERS 
desirable because of their 
splendid keeping and snip¬ 
ping qualities. We also have' 
hundi-eds of others—l-inm. 
Asparagus and Slrawberry 
Plarits. Catalogue FREE. 
Harrison’s Nurseries, Box 29, Berlin, Md. 
TREES 
Est’d 1847. Cat. Free. 
that Live, Grow and bear the kinds of fruit you buy. Hardy Troes, 
that fruit Early. Why ? Because budded from bearing trees of 
Early Fruiting Habits. Prices! Well, a Peach Orchard, loo 
trees, best kinds, $3.50. Japan Plums, $10 per 100. Apples, Pears, 
all others in proportion. All Slock Fumigated, if desired. 
S. Y, INT. Y. 
Dwyer’s Eighteeiitli A 
Atmual Spring Catalog I 
contains a thorough description of all the good fruit for commercial and 
garden purposes; also descriptions and illustrations of ornamental 
trees, plants, vines, etc., for beautifying the home grounds. Mailed free to all who apply for It, and mention 
Thb Rdkal New-Yobker. This book Is useful and instructive. The colored plates are works of art. Do 
not fall to write for it at once. Address 
T. J. DWYER & SON, Orange County Nurseries, CORNWALL, N. Y. 
The Popular CAROLINA POPLAR. 
Just the tree for city planting — Xhrlves where others fall—Kealsts 
S'®* ®* 4^^® Bulamander fire. No tree furnisbea quicker shade; 
75,000 of them, beautiful trees, 6 to 8, 8 to 10, 10 to 12 and 12 to 15 feet. Immense stock 
of all other Shade Trees, Shrubs and Boses. Hundreds of thousands of Prult 
Trees, Small PruItiL Grape Vines, Plants, Seeds. Valuable Catalogue free. 
Correspondence solicited. Write us your wants If you would procure the best at bottom 
prices. 47 years. 44 GREENHOUSES. lOOO ACRES. 
THE STORRS A HARRISON CO., Box 242, Painesvllle, Ohio. 
