422 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June I5 
] Ruralisms 
KOTES FROm THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
Stocks for Grafting Roses. —Some¬ 
thing of a controversy is now going o.t 
in the horticultural trade journals con¬ 
cerning the best stocks for rose grafting. 
Jackson Dawson, of the Arnold Arbor¬ 
etum, Boston, who has had much experi¬ 
ence in propagating hardy roses, warmly 
recommends Rosa multiflora, a Chinese 
species, for the purpose, but most grow¬ 
ers are still wedded to the Manetti, a 
strong growing form of the hybrid China 
rose found growing wild in Italy nearly 
50 years ago. Manetti is the stock al¬ 
most exclusively used for the imported 
roses so freely offered in all large cities. 
It is not at all adapted to our climate, 
as it makes a great mass of fibrous 
roots near the surface, subjecting the 
plant to severe checks from dry wea¬ 
ther and to premature ripening in the 
Fall. There is also a tendency to throw 
up suckers unless the union of the bud 
or graft with the stock is very deeply 
planted. Thousands of purchasers of 
these tempting grafted roses are soon 
grieved to find their once thrifty roses 
replaced by worthless briers, as the 
Manetti sprout soon monopolizes the 
whole vitality of the plant. This charac¬ 
teristic is less objectionable when used 
for grafting forcing roses, as they are 
grown under such a system of constant 
inspection that suckers can never make 
much progress. We have tried many 
substitutes for Manetti on the Rural 
Grounds and find the Michigan or Prai¬ 
rie rose (Rosa setigera), R. Wichuraiana 
and the sweetbriar, R. rubiginosa, have 
given us good satisfaction where perfect 
hardiness is required, though certain 
hybrids of sweetbrier and Wichuraiana 
are still better. All make good deep 
roots, and are little affected by dry wea¬ 
ther when established, and are not at 
all disposed to sucker. The best of all 
stocks in the Rural experience is pro¬ 
duced by crossing Crimson Rambler with 
Clothilde Soupert, both varieties of R. 
multiflora. Some of the crosses are al¬ 
most thornless, and of extraordinary 
vigor in growth. A three-year plant in 
ordinary soil cut back yearly has devel¬ 
oped a woody base nearly three inches 
through. There is no inclination to 
throw up sprouts, and for all budding 
purposes this stock works with great 
ease. In hardiness it seems little infer¬ 
ior to the native species. For grafting 
purposes we do not care to use the 
stems, as sections of the larger roots of 
any of the species mentioned may be 
grafted with the ordinary splice graft, 
as it is not always easy to make a 
tongue in rose wood on account of the 
pith. The grafted roots may be well 
wrapped with waxed cloth like an apple 
graft, packed in damp moss or old saw¬ 
dust and kept in a warm place for two 
or three weeks, after which they should 
be potted up in small pots and placed on 
a bench under glass to grow. If the 
grafting has been carefully managed 
they will soon make fine plants. For 
tree rose effects we much prefer to bud 
high up on strong hybrid sweetbrier 
shoots, and trim off all other shoots and 
branches from the stock as soon as the 
bud has formed a fair top. 
The whole question of propagating 
rcses by budding and grafting is still 
undeveloped in America, though the pro¬ 
pagation by cuttings is carried on to 
greater perfection than abroad, result¬ 
ing in cheaper plants of most varieties 
than can be procured elsewhere. While 
most tender and everblooming roses 
thrive best on their own roots, some of 
the finest hardy varieties root with diffi¬ 
culty or make only feeble plants when 
induced to grow. It is important to find 
strong-growing stocks suited to our cli- 
niate for such roses, that we may not 
be deprived of their beauty and frag¬ 
rance, and it seems that they are most 
likely to be produced by hybridizing and 
breeding. The grape industry of Fiance 
is being rehabilitated after threatened 
destruction by Phylloxera by grafting 
the native vines on American stocks, 
mostly of hybrid origin, and stocks are 
being bred for special purposes, such as 
avoiding chlorosis, a disease caused by 
a great excess of lime in the soil. Hy¬ 
brid stocks may be absolutely sterile in 
themselves, but prove of great value for 
grafting on account of extraordinary 
vigor or special adaptation for some im¬ 
portant purpose. 
A Beautifiti. Hardy Grass. —Refer¬ 
ence was made on page 818, volume for 
1900, to the value of stems of Eulalia 
gracillima univittata, now considered as 
a variety of Miscanthus Sinensis, for 
Winter protection of shrubby plants. 
Nothing we have used has given so 
much satisfaction for mulching or tying 
up. The leafy stems are light but rigid, 
and afford good protection, without in¬ 
terfering with the necessary ventilation. 
We think so highly of it that a privet 
hedge has been thrown out to make 
place for it. This Eulalia makes a beau¬ 
tiful Summer hedge or dividing line, 
but has been little used for this purpose, 
and while the tall brown feathery tufts 
are not attractive in Winter they form 
effective wind-breaks. Fig. 171, page 
418, from a cut kindly furnished by 
Bobbink & Atkins, Rutherford, N. J., 
shows what can be accomplished by 
planting it in beds or groups. The edg¬ 
ing of this group is evidently made up 
of Day lilies or Funkias. Repeated 
trials have shown that cattle and horses 
eat the growing stems of the Eulalias 
with relish, and in view of the enormous 
quantity of forage a small planting 
would give, it may be worth while to 
test the different varieties for the pur¬ 
pose. Young plants or divisions may be 
had for about $5 per 1,000, and if set 
about two feet by three in good soil a 
permanent and exceedingly productive 
green forage planting would be secured. 
After the second year it may be cut re¬ 
peatedly without injury, but the feeding 
value remains to be determined. It is 
always well to burn over the old tufts 
every Spring, as the new growth starts 
more evenly and vigorously than when 
compelled to push up through the stub¬ 
ble. It has lately been determined that 
Miscanthus has precedence over Eulalia 
as the generic name of these beautiful 
hardy grasses, but we may consider the 
latter as popularly adopted, and likely 
to remain in use by most gardeners. The 
striped variety known as E. Japonica 
variegata and E. Japonica zebrina are 
handsome in their way, but much too 
coarse to be used extensively except for 
backgrounds. 
A Good Metal Pot. —Early in April 
last year the Rural Grounds received 
from S. R. Divine, Loch Sheldrake, N. 
Y., two dozen metal pots as a substitute 
for the earthen pots so universally used 
for growing plants. They were of the 
standard four-inch size, differing only in 
having a much larger drainage hole in 
the bottom than the usual kind. They 
were of galvanized iron, and had been 
dipped after being pressed into shape 
out of a single piece of sheet iron. The 
drainage hole, being nearly two inches 
in diameter, must be closed with a piece 
of sod or other porous material to keep 
the soil in. Metal pots have always 
been condemned, as it was thought that 
porous sides were necessary for success¬ 
ful plant growth, but the thousands of 
healthy plants in tin cans in window 
gardens all over the country sufficiently 
disprove this opinion. We planted 
melons and cucumbers in these pots, 
using sods for drainage cover, at the 
same time planting similar seeds in 
earthen pots of the same size. When 
turned out in the field seven weeks later 
no difference in size or strength of the 
plants could be noticed, and both lots 
grew equally well throughout the sea¬ 
son. The metal pots nest together very 
closely and only weigh about one-third 
as much as the earthen kind, and have 
the additional advantage of not breaking 
when dropped, although they can be 
bent by strong pressure. These sample 
pots aio very well made, and after a 
year's exposure to weather are as bright 
as at first. They look as though they 
would endure many seasons’ usage. Mr. 
Divine says his locality is so cool that 
it is necessary to start all early melons, 
beans, sweet corn, etc., in pots under 
protection to avoid late frosts. He finds 
these pots, which he has been perfecting 
foi some time, just the thing, as thou¬ 
sands may be handled and stored with 
little trouble and expenditure of space. 
We understand that they cannot yet be 
manufactured at prices to compete with 
common pots, but he thinks that when 
their durability and ease of handling is 
taken into considei-ation they will in the 
end prove the cheaper. A season’s ex¬ 
perience seems to prove the truth of this 
assertion. w. v. f. 
The Worden-iecke! fear. 
In your issue of April 20. some one, in 
answering: H. G. II., of Cadiz, O., says the 
W'orden-Seckel pear originated in Canada. 
I liad always supposed this variety origi¬ 
nated with the late Schuyler Worden, Min- 
netto, N. Y., the father of the famous Wor¬ 
den grape. 1 wonder if 1 am mistaken; if 
so, shall be glad to be set right. h. s. w. 
Cayuga, N. Y. 
In my reply of April 20 to a former 
question about the Worden-Seckel pear 
I did make a mistake about the origin of 
that variety, as I find from a consulta¬ 
tion with one who was personally ac¬ 
quainted with the originator and his 
work. H. S. W. is correct in his belief, 
for the seed from which the original 
tree was grown was taken from a Seckel 
pear and planted by Schuyler Worden 
at Minnetto, N. Y., about 1860. The lo¬ 
cality is on the west side of Oswego 
River, and in a good section for growing 
pears. It is a variety well worthy of be¬ 
ing planted by all lovers of good pears, 
for it is larger and much more hand¬ 
some than its parent, and as good in 
quality, which is equal to the best of all 
pears. My opinion is, that the simple 
name Worden is sufficient and that it 
should be so listed by the authorities in 
pomology and in the catalogues of nur¬ 
serymen, and be so used by the public 
in general. ii. e. van deman. 
For the land’s sake, use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
We are the largfest manu¬ 
facturers of Steel Wheels 
and Truck Wagons in the 
World. Write for Catalogue. 
Havana (lil.) Metai Wheel Co. 
If you want to double your crops, have 
largo bealtliy trees and sound fruit, si)ray 
them with a solution ina<lo from 
Black Soluble 
Insecticide Soap 
GreatBst S 'ccess of the Century. 
Awarded on its merits Grand Prize at the Paris Ex¬ 
hibition, and Gold Medals at the International Exhi¬ 
bitions of Rome, Dijon and Turin: also a I)ii)louia of 
Honor at M.arseillt's. Panii)lilets. prices and other 
Information furnished promptly on application. 
For sale by all reliable seedsmen. 
V. CASAZZA A: liKO., 
Sole Agents for the United States and Canada, 
190-19‘,J Htince St., New York City, 
PARACRENE 
is better, cheaper and bulkier than PARIS GREEN. 
“Have used Haragrene on ray farm for potato 
bugs. It was perfectly satisfactory. E. H. BAII.EY, 
Prof, of Horticulture, Cornell University.” Write 
for sample. FRED. E. LAVANBUKG, New York 
YOU CAN 
OBTAIN A MILLION 
-OH. - 
of the Best Quality 
at the manufacturers’ 
lowest cash price. Write 
for catalogue of Fruit and Farm Baskets and 
Crates. Low prices for early orders. 
COLES & COMPANY, 
Est’d 1884. 109 & 111 Warren St., New York. 
BERRY BASKETS 
Wire-stapled Berry Baske^ts 
are the best in the markri. 
being unltorm in size and nn- 
tn strength. 
ITlce on Car Lots 
Write for Descriptive Catalog 
WEBSTER BASKET CO., 
Monroe Co. (Ixtck Box43). WEBSTER, N. Y. 
The Finest Spray' 
is produced with 
RiPPLEY^S 
\ ComprcdMed Air5gal.Spray¬ 
ers. Tested to GO Iba pressure. 
Has safety valve—cau’t burst. 
Throwa a continuous stream 
I SOteetif (leaired. GuaraiiUedtUe best 
5 gal. Cornp. Air J^prayerinade, or 
[ money refuiided. Made both in oop- 
ner and palv. iron. Write for circu¬ 
lars Nothine elseso good for white¬ 
washing poultry houses, stables, etc. 
j Wc also make a complete line of 
Sprayers for Commercial Orchards, 
vineyards, etc. Agents make big 
I money selling these and our other 
I specialties. Write for special terms j 
1 and prices to dealers and agents. 
, RIPPLEY HARDWARE COMPANY, 
Box 2?3 Grafton, Illinois. 
Kasiern nraiidiM—8 I’«rk Place, 
N. Y.Clty i'Ji Mcrchanta Kow,Boston 
Buy a Good 
Spray 
Pump 
—don’t experiment— 
costs money. We have done 
the experimenting—used the 
common spray pumps in our 
own orchards, noted their 
defects — then invented the 
ECLIPSE. Yoxi get the bene¬ 
fit of our experience free. 
Send at once for catalogue. 
MORRILL & MORLEY, Benton Harlior, Mich. 
A Dry Sprayer 
No Water or Plaster. 
DUSTS TREE, BUSU 
on VINE. 
Two rows of potatoes as 
fast as you walk,wide or 
narrownlanting. Agents 
wanted. Catalogue and 
spray calendar free. 
Leggett & Brother, 
301 Pearl St., New York. 
A POTATO BUG 
is most useful when he Is dead. Kill him with 
“ BOXAL,’’ and prevent blight by the same 
same operation. $1 buys 10 pounds. 
Catalogue No. 24 free. 
BOWKER CHEMICAL CO., Boston. 
SAN JOSE SCALE. 
And other Insects can be Controlled by Using 
Goodes Caustic Potash Whale- 
Oil Tobacco Soap No. 6. 
Kegs, 50lbs. ea., 5)40 lb. (4 Bbl., abont275 lbs.,4c.lb 
Kegs, 100 lbs. ea., 5c. lb. Bbls., about 425 lb8.,3^c.lb 
Kegs. 170 lbs. ea.,4)4c. lb. 
Large quantities Special Rates. Send for Circulars. 
JAMES GOOD. 937 N. Front St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
[FERTILIZERS —From Factory to Farm. 
a WE SELL YOU DIRECT^ NO AOENT'S PROFIT. NO SALESMAN’S EXPENSES. 
WRITE FOR POCKET MEMORANDUM BOOK, PRICES and SAMPLES. 
THE SCIENTIFIC FERTILIZER COMPANY, 
IP. O. BOX 1017, PITTSBURG, PA. 
