i89o 
8i5 
will do the best every time. Of course, one 
should thin enough to color the fruit, but 
there should be no bare limbs. Better 
never trim at all than employ a so-called 
tree-trimmer. Trees that grow like the 
Baldwin should be started with open heads. 
The Greening will rarely get much too 
thick if started a little open at first. The 
Bartlett is sufficiently open; but the top 
should be taken out sometimes when in¬ 
clined to run too high. It costs too much 
to gather the fruit when it is too far from 
the ground, and the men who can handle 
long ladders are getting scarcer every year. 
As the boys leave the farms and go to the 
cities, their places have to be filled by men 
green at fruit gathering, and they look 
upon a ladder as dangerous to life and 
limb. 
Jerusalem Artichokes (Helianthus tu- 
berosus).—The Kansas Agricultural Col¬ 
lege planted a quarter of an acre with the 
tubers of this plant in hills like potatoes, 
but they received‘flat culture. They grew 
well, producing a perfect thicket of stems 
six to nine feet high. The whole patch 
has not been harvested yet, but it is be¬ 
lieved they will yield at the rate of 500 
bushels per acre. The tubers are quite 
nutritious and palatable. In many places 
in Europe they are grown for human food, 
and used in the same way as potatoes. 
The college intends them primarily as hog 
food, and they may also prove valuable for 
cattle. They will be made the subject of 
experiment for feeding purposes later. It 
is suggested that many waste places, 
especially low ground where the water does 
not actually stand, could be given to this 
useful root crop. Once planted they will 
perpetuate themselves, and can be har¬ 
vested every fall by a herd of swine. 
From a well considered symposium re¬ 
garding the so-called Russian apricot, 
which appears in the November American 
Garden, Prof. Bailey draws the following 
conclusions: 1. The Russian apricot is 
somewhat hardier than the peach, and may 
be expected to endure the climate a degree 
or two north of the peach belt. 2. It blooms 
early and is liable to injury from late 
spring frosts. 3. Seedlings vary widely and 
many of them are worthless. 4. The fruit, 
even of the best sorts, is much inferior to 
that of the older and better known varie¬ 
ties of apricots. 5. There is promise of 
considerable improvement under proper 
care and selection. G. It is particularly 
liable to the attacks of the curculio and 
plum gouger. 7. It works well upon the 
common plum, Prunus Americana, Mari¬ 
anna, Peach and Myrobolan. It is probable 
that Marianna or some other of the native 
plums will be found to be the most desir¬ 
able stock. 8 . In general, it appears that 
on the northern limits of peach culture the 
best varieties of Russian apricot are worth 
cultivation on a limited scale; and they 
may increase in value with further atten¬ 
tion. 
A New Sweet-scented Begonia, B. 
Baumanni. —We learn from the London 
Garden that this new species, which is in¬ 
digenous to the moist valleys of the north¬ 
ern Cordillera Range, is now being sent out 
for the first time by M. V. Lemoine, of 
Nancy, France, who has acquired the entire 
stock from its raiser, Herr Baumann, of 
Bolwiller, to whom seed was sent in 1SS6 
by its discovery, Dr. Sacc, from Cocha¬ 
bamba, in Bolivia. The flower stems are 
produced in great profusion, as many as 25 
at once from a single plant, they each 
bear from three to six bright rose-colored 
flowers, which exhale a most agreeable per¬ 
fume, closely resembling that of a primrose. 
The male flowers, which are the larger and 
handsomer of the two, are twice as numer¬ 
ous as the female ones; whereas generally 
the proportion is the exact contrary—two 
female flowers to each male. The plant is 
of easy culture, requiring only a good, light 
soil, plenty of water, and partial shade, as 
exposure to the full sun causes the flowers 
to fall. The period of blooming extends to 
nine months out of the twelve, the plant 
requiring rest only during the three winter 
months; it is also well suited for room and 
window-sill culture, and should be a de¬ 
cided acquisition to our gardens. 
Mr. Crozier, of Suffolk County, Long 
Island, tells the Country Gentleman that he 
fully believes Alfalfa would be a success in 
all parts of the country if the ground were 
properly prepared and put in a high state 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
of cultivation before sowing the seed. He 
thinks more attention should be paid to 
this very valuable fodder. The stem is not 
coarse but has length and fineness of stalk 
with its many fine leaves. He is now us¬ 
ing it in all his mixtures of grasses, and 
his cattle do well on it without grain. His 
young stock will seek it out when on past¬ 
ure. He has 12 Jersey female calves that 
have been feeding on it now for three 
months, cut green and fed in the stables. 
All his milk is sold in the neighboring vil¬ 
lage, which has been'very profitable, and 
taking the labor of the dairy, each cow re¬ 
turned $180 on the average per annum 
FINALLY. 
At present prices a farmer is foolish to 
buy kainit for his potash instead of muri¬ 
ate of potash. Potash in kainit costs five 
cents; while that in muriate costs but four 
cents per pound. 
Popular Gardening, speaking of Hen¬ 
derson’s Bush Lima, say that “in quality 
there is nothing that can surpass it. There 
is a richness about the beans hardly met 
in any others.” The Rural New-Yorker 
finds this bean inferior in quality to the 
old Limas or the Burpee or Kumerle. Its 
value is in its productiveness and earliness. 
Mr. E. P. Powell, of Clinton, N Y., an 
excellent authority, prefers the Agawam 
Blackberry to any other variety. 
The Breeders’ Gazette says that the 
“ gentle ” bulls are getting in their work in 
good shape all over the country. Notices 
of gorings to death by bulls have never 
been more frequent in the telegraphic news 
than during the past few weeks. Once in a 
while a vicious bull—one known and feared 
as a man-killer—makes an end of his 
keeper, but ordinarily it is the “gentle” 
bull, the very gentlest bull which" even the 
children can handle,” that does the mis¬ 
chief. Or he may be the dishorned bull 
which has been thoroughly subdued by the 
hand-saw process. Have a care. A bull is 
a male animal of the bovine species, and 
his natural instinct to fight, wisely enough 
implanted in his being in the wild state, 
has not yet been eradicated by the influ¬ 
ences of domestication, and never will be. 
In this plain statement is compressed a 
whole treatise on heredity, and it may well 
be heeded. The loss of Nature’s weapons 
of offense and defense will in most cases 
have a very quieting effect, and ofttimes 
prevent fatal results from an attack. 
That will depend entirely on circumstances. 
But that it will take the “ bull ” out of the 
beast may be doubted with perfect safety, 
if not with correctness. The man who will 
trust a bull, horned or unhorned, kind or 
cross, is not a fit subject as a risk for an ac¬ 
cident insurance company. 
That excellent trade journal, The Amer¬ 
ican Florist, we learn, will be changed from 
a semi monthly to a weekly without any 
change in the subscription price. 
J. Statman mentions the new Paragon 
Grape of John Burr of Leavenworth, Kan¬ 
sas, as without doubt the best hardy black 
grape known. 
ABSTRACTS 
- Life : “ An abnormally developed 
snobbishness, abetted by an almost im¬ 
possible vanity are the only discernible 
reasons for the existence of Ward McAllis¬ 
ter’s ‘Society as I Have Found It.’” 
“ You constantly hear of the doctors 
stopping somebody’s headwork and send¬ 
ing him off as though headwork was the 
natural enemy of health. Why do they 
never seem to And cases in which they may 
reasonably reverse the process, and order 
the patient to stop loafing and do some¬ 
thing with his mind ? Even laymen know 
that reasonable headwork is conducive to 
the general health. Why don’t the doctors 
prescribe it sometimes ? ” 
-W. S. Lilly : “ Look at a public 
meeting. For what purpose does any one 
attend it save to obtain a confirmation of 
his own views ? ” 
-Massachusetts Ploughman:—“a good 
dairymaid is worth more to the world thin 
a ‘ society leader ’ with all her brainless ex¬ 
penditures.” 
-Harper’s Weekly:—“T he only time a 
high price is paid for vegetables is when 
you have none to offer; or, to put it into 
the form of an Irish argument, the only 
time a crop is profitable is when it is a 
failure.” 
-Senator Ingalls:—" Honor and hon¬ 
esty have nothing to do with politics.” 
-Credit Lost: Teacher: "Now, chil¬ 
dren, here we have the word ‘Intuition.’ 
Who can tell me what it means?” Phe¬ 
nomenally bright scholar—“ Intuition is 
that faculty of the human mind which en¬ 
ables a person to distinguish at a glance a 
patent medicine advertisement from a real 
news article.” 
-N. Y. Herald : " There is no question 
that the Alliance holds the balance of 
power to-day in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and proba¬ 
bly in the two Dakotas. Whichever party 
secures its support is sure to win in 1892. 
Without its support or with its hostility 
the Republican party is in a hopeless mi¬ 
nority.” 
-New York Herald : "Your firs look 
pretty seedy,” said the valley to the moun¬ 
tain. “ I have had ’em in camp fire all 
summer,” returned the mountain, with a 
sigh. 
-Western Rural : "We wish that some 
of the politicians who are forever prating 
about the prosperity of the farmer, were 
compelled to farm for a living.” 
- Orange County Farmer : “ The time 
to gather fallen leaves for fertilizing pur¬ 
poses is immediately after a heavy rain. 
They are then compacted and adhere to 
each other, so that they can be handled 
much as you would handle a load of barn¬ 
yard manure.” 
-Prof. Budd.in The American Garden: 
—“ We have germinated apricot pollen six 
weeks after it was taken from the plant. 
It may be sent across the continent by mail 
without loss of vitality.” 
“ Of the Russian apricots we have tested 
and observed here in Ames, Iowa, the Gibb, 
Nicholas, Catherine and Budd appear to 
staud well at the head. But the best of all 
in tree and fruit is Chinese, rather than 
Russian in origin. It was grown from a 
pit imported by the Iowa Agricultural 
College from the province of Shense, in 
northwest China. At first it was sent out 
for trial under the name of Chinese apricot. 
Later we named it “Shense,” but in Ne¬ 
braska it is known by a few parties under 
the name of Acme. It does not come into 
bearing so early as some of the Russian va¬ 
rieties, but it makes a larger and hand¬ 
somer tree, has larger and better foliage, 
and the fruit is larger, handsomer and bet¬ 
ter for any use than any of the Russian sorts 
I have seen in East Europe or here.” 
- Popular Gardening : “ It is not gen¬ 
erally known that the chrysanthemum can 
be propagated from a single leaf as well as 
from cuttings and division. Take a leaf 
with a bud at its base and cover it lightly 
with sand in some slightly shady spot 
where the heat is congenial, and it will 
after a little throw out roots and start an 
upward growth.” 
-B. F. J., in the Country Gentleman : 
‘ These farmers say that when corn is har¬ 
vested in sound condition, and put into 
roof-tight and well-veDtilated cribs, it will 
keep without material loss for five or even 
ten years.” 
- The Living Church : “ When famine 
comes upon the land, it will be no ‘ mys¬ 
terious dispensation of God.’ It will be the 
result of this fearful sacrifice of bird-life.” 
- Storer: “ If the exhalation of moisture 
from mere grass sod can bedew and obscure 
glass in the twinkling of an eye, it is mani¬ 
fest that the great mass of foliage which is 
concentrated into the space occupied by a 
single tree must be an engine of no small 
power.” 
“Valliant observed that an oak tree, 
69 feet high and 8% feet in circumference at 
3K feet from the ground, transpired of a 
fine summer’s day 4,400 pounds of water.” 
- Life : “ In his book, McAllister has 
written himself down a fool and a snob. 
“The wonder lies notin the man’s being 
such a fool, but in the fact of his having no 
perception of it himself.” 
“It has been officially determined in 
Prussia, that the snow melts in that coun¬ 
try a week earlier, on the average, upon 
drained than upon undrained land similarly 
situated.” 
- Journal of Commerce: "There is a 
Ruler whose government is absolute. We 
believe that he designs to use the American 
Republic as an instrument for blessing the 
world. There will be discipline when we 
are forced, like children at school, to learn 
hard lessons; there will be hours given to 
tears; learning through suffering and 
sacrifice is the common lot. But we believe 
the people of the United States, taught it 
may be in the furnace, will come at the last 
to a yet grander appreciation of their mis¬ 
sion, and that demagogues and corrupt 
politicians will not always have the most to 
say in the administration of public affairs.” 
Good Rural Books. 
The following Books are selected from 
our extended list as the most desirable on 
the subjects of which they treat. Sent by 
mail post paid on receipt of price. A com¬ 
plete list of books on rural subjects sent on 
request. _ 
Fruits, Etc. 
American Fruit Culturist. Thomas 
(593 p. ; illustrated). $2.00 
A. B. C. of Strawberry Culture. 
Terry (140 p.; ill.) Paper.40 
Apple Culture, Field Notes on. 
Bailey (90 p. ; ill.). 75 
Fruits and Fruit Trees of America. 
Downing (1,500 p. ; ill.)..... 5.00 
Fruit Garden. Barry (500 p.; ill.)_ 2.00 
Grape Culturist. Fuller (283 p.; ill.). 1.50 
Peach Culture Rutter. Paper, 50cts.; 
Pear Culture for Profit. Quinn 
(136 p.). 1.00 
Propagation of Plants. Fuller 
(350 p.; ill). 1.50 
Propagation, Art of, Jenkins, (paper; 
30 p.; ill). 30 
Small Fruits, Success with. Roe. 
(380 p.). 1.50 
Small Fruit Culturist. Fuller (325 
p.; ill.). 1.50 
Vegetables, Etc. 
Celery Manual. $0.25 
Cabbages. Gregory (25 p.).30 
Carrots and Mangold-Wurtzels. .30 
Gardening for Profit. Henderson 
(350 p. ; ill.). 2.00 
Gardening for Young and Old. Harris 
(190 p. ; ill.). 1.25 
Garden and Farm Topics. Henderson. 1.50 
Gardening, Success in Market. Raw- 
son (p. 210.; ill.). 1.00 
Garden—How to make it Pay. 
Greiner (260 p.; ill.). 2.00 
How Crops Feed. Johnson (400 p.: ill.) 2.00 
How Crops Grow. Johnson (375 p.).. 2.00 
Mushroom Culture for Amateurs. 
May (Eng.; 50 p. ; ill.) paper.50 
Money in the Garden. Quinn (150 p.).. 1.50 
Truck Farming at the South. Oemler 
(265 p. ; ill.). 1.50 
Floriculture. 
Azalea Culture. Halliday (110 p.; ill.) 
Special price .. $0.75 
Bulbs. Rand (350 p. ; ill.). 2.50 
Every Woman Her Own Flower Gard¬ 
ener. Daisy Eyebright (130 p.)... 1.00 
Gardening for Pleasure. Henderson 
(400 p.; ill.). 2.00 
Hand Book or Plants. Henderson 
(520 p.; ill.). 4.00 
Home Florist, The. Long. 1.50 
Practical Floriculture. Henderson 
(320 p. ; ill.). 1.50 
Rose, The. Ellsvanger (290 p.). 1.25 
General Agriculture. 
Agriculture. Storer (2 vols.). $5.00 
Ensilage and Silos. Colcord. 1.00 
Tiie Silo. A. J. Cook.25 
Grasses and Forage Plants. Flint. 2.00 
How the Farm Pays. Henderson and 
Crozier. 2.50 
Irrigation for Farm, Garden and Or¬ 
chard. Stewart. 1.50 
Manures, Book on. Harris (350 p.)... 1.75 
Culture of Farm Crops. Stewart_ 1.50 
Live Stock, Poultry, Etc. 
Cattle Feeding, Manual of. Armsby 
(500 p.). $1.75 
Feeding Animals. Stewart. 2.00 
Milch Cows and Dairy Farming. Flint 
(450 p.). 2.00 
Dairyman’s Manual. Stewart. 2.00 
Practical Poultry Keeper. Wright 
(236 p. ; ill.). 2.00 
Poultry Culture. I. K. Felch. 1.50 
Harris on the Pig. Joseph Harris_ 1.50 
Veterinary Adviser. James Law_ 3.00 
Miscellaneous. 
Annals of Horticulture. Bailey. 
Paper, 60 cts.; cloth. $1.00 
Botany, Lessons in. Gray (226 p.; ill.). 1.50 
Botany, Manual of. Gray (S00 p. ; 
plates.). 2.50 
Botanist and Florist. Wood (431 p. ; 
ill.). 2.00 
California Views (in color). Nutting.. .50 
Forestry, Practical. Fuller (280 p.; ill.) 1.50 
Home Acre. Roe (252 p.). 1.50 
Horticulturists’Rule Book. Bailey.. 1.00 
How Plants Grow. Gray (216 p. ; ill.). 1.00 
Insects Injurious to Plants. Saunders 
(425 p. ; ill.) . 2.00 
Insects, Injurious. Treat (270 p.; ill.). 2.00 
Nature’s Serial Story. Roe. 2.50 
Ornamental Gardening. Long. 2.00 
Rural Essays. Downing. 3.00 
Suburban Homes. Scott. . 2.50 
Talks Afield. Bailey. 1.00 
The Garden’s Story. Ellwanger. 1.25 
Woods ot the United States. Sargent. 1.00 
Any $1.00 book published in the United 
States sent prepaid, together with a year’s 
subscription to either The Rural New- 
Y'orker or The American Garden, for 
§2.50, Auy $1.50 book, ditto, for §2.75. 
Any $2 00 book, ditto, for §3.00, 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
Times Building, New York. 
