VOL. XLIX. NO. 2ii4. 
NEW YORK, AUG. 2 , i89o. 
PRICE, FIVE CENTS. 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
.NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS, 
wo Gooseberries.— It was in the fall of 1883, that 
we received specimens of half-a-dozen different 
kinds of gooseberries from the late James Dougal, 
of Canada. Of these we have now to speak of his No. 2 and 
No. 7, illustrations of which are presented (Fig. 186). 
These have been alluded to every year for the past six 
years, and our object in again bringing them forward so 
prominently is that they may be propagated and introduced. 
They were sent to The R. N.-Y. merely for trial and report, 
and wre of course have no right whatever to part with cut¬ 
tings without authority. Mr. Dougal died about four years 
often somewhat variegated. Generally the hairs are less 
prominent than those shown upon the single berry. The 
bush itself is most distinct. It assumes quite a tree form. 
The leaves are small and of a yellowish-green color as if 
diseased or unthrifty. Such is not the case. Neither the 
berries nor the leaves ever mildew. One characteristic 
which increases the value of the No. 2, is that it is nearly 
free of thorns. We prefer it—all things considered—for 
home use, to any other variety ever tested here. It ripens 
in midseason and has Dever failed to bear a fair crop. 
No. 7 (the lower illustration) is excessively productive. 
The leaves are of medium size and of a dark green. The 
grown by The Rural family for 50 years), with a view to 
increasing its suckering propensity. The ears are often 
14 inches long. It is thought that it will prove of great 
value for ensilage purposes wherever it will mature. 
An Easy Way to Exterminate the Asparagus Bee¬ 
tle. —Last season (as then reported) we tried spraying the 
infested plants with Paris-green water, hellebore, pyre- 
thrum, etc., with little apparent effect upon either the 
beetles or the larvae. Sulphur and plaster were blown 
upon them through bellows without effect. This season 
the shoots were cut as late as usual, when all were left to 
grow alike. The beetles began to deposit their eggs as 
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DOUGAL’S No. 2 AND No. 7 GOOSEBERRIES. From Nature. Fig. 186. 
ago. We have vainly endeavored to place ourselves in com¬ 
munication with his heirs, having written to the Ed. of the 
Canadian Horticulturist, to one of the family whose name 
he mentioned, to Ellwanger & Barry, who nave introduced 
some of his productions, aud to others. We conclude that 
he either has no heirs, or if he has they are quite indifferent 
as to the future of the two varieties of gooseberries in 
question. What is the proper course for The R. N.-Y. to 
pursue in such a case ? The No. 2, as Mr. Dougal wrote 
to us in 1883, is a supposed hybrid between a wild sort 
and an English variety. The fruit reduced in size is 
shown upon the upper stem, while the single berry to 
the right shows its natural size. The quality is of the 
best, being sweet, tender and juicy. The color is s 
pale red on one side and nearly green on the other. It is 
berries are larger (as may be seen by comparing the two 
branches), of a dull green color, and not so sweet as those 
of the No. 2. It has produced an immense crop every year 
since it began to fruit. The tips of the branches some¬ 
times mildew a trifle; the berries rarely. This, too, Mr. 
Dougal believed to be a hybrid. It is more thorny than 
No. 2, though less so than the Downing or Houghton. 
R. N.-Y. Thoroughbred Yellow Dent.— This corn is 
now three feet high with an average of Jive stalks from one 
seed. Which is the main stalk and which are the suckers, 
it is impossible to tell. The stalks are short-jointed and 
the leaves very broad. The stalks grow in good soil about 
eight feet high. It will be seen that one plant to every 12 
square feet will give a growth as close as desirable. We 
are now selecting this remarkable variety (it has been 
soon as the shoots appeared above ground continuing until 
the plants were in foliage. The eggs are dark in color and 
nearly the sixteenth of an inch long. They are securely 
fastened to the stalk by the beetle at one end only, so that 
the rest of the egg remains at right-angles to the stalks. 
They are, therefore, easily destroyed, simply by ruboing 
them off. As the eggs aie readily seen, it is only necessary 
to walk between the rows and to inclose the infested stalk 
with the hand as if it were a rope and rub upward to the 
top. Every egg will be destroyed. Last year at this time 
every plant was more or less injured by the worms. This 
year not a beetle or a grub is to be found, though the 
plants may suffer somewhat by later broods from neigh¬ 
boring premises. Our bed is one-fortieth of an acre. The 
work was done by going over it three times at intervals of 
