6 
TIIE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 7, 
uralisms 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
The Australian Glory Pea. —How 
many readers have tried to grow the ex¬ 
ceedingly showy Glory pea, Clianthus 
Dainpieri? Seeds are not as freely offered 
as in the past—the almost inevitable lack 
of success under ordinary conditions in 
northern localities has caused the demand 
to fall off—but they are still listed in the 
best catalogues at 10 cents a package. It 
is usually treated as a tender greenhouse 
shrub, but when sown early in very sandy 
soil occasionally makes a magnificent dis¬ 
play in late Summer. The trouble with 
the Glory pea is that it is difficult to trans¬ 
plant even where carefully grown in pots, 
and impossible to handle safely in the or¬ 
dinary way. The roots are particularly 
brittle, the slightest breakage often being 
followed by decay, and even when care¬ 
fully shifted the roots may fail to take 
hold of the new soil. Being a legume the 
Glory pea may not grow well without in¬ 
oculation with a symbiotic organism, but 
at any rate its culture on its own roots is 
very uncertain. The only success in trans¬ 
planting we have yet scored came by sow¬ 
ing a few seeds each in well-drained cigar 
boxes containing coarse, sandy soil of no 
great fertility. The boxes were placed on 
the soil of a brisk hotbed in March. Water 
was sparingly given, as the seedlings 
quickly resent moist soil. In late May 
the boxes were carefully pried apart and 
the balls turned out with great caution 
and firmly bedded in a sunny situation 
three feet apart in a slightly elevated bed 
composed wholly of sandy soil, with a 
small quantity of fine old manure mixed 
in. The plants, soon after coming up, had 
been thinned to one in each box. Two 
plants out of five started off with vigor 
and bloomed profusely from August until 
frost, the half trailing branches growing 
nearly four feet long. The three remain¬ 
ing plants wer^ stunted, and did not 
amount to anything. The seeds are hard, 
and grow better if soaked in hot water— 
80 to 90 degrees—for 24 hours before 
planting. As a glasshouse plant the Aus¬ 
tralian Glory pea is anything but satisfac¬ 
tory, the foliage being readily attacked by 
the red spider mite, while the root system 
seldom develops freely in pots or borders. 
The New Zealand species, C. puniceus, often 
called Parrot’s-bill, succeeds much better 
in the greenhouse, and has become a 
favorite outdoor shrub in California, 
blooming all Winter in the neighborhood 
of San Francisco. The color of the flowers 
is crimson, fading somewhat with age, and 
is consequently less striking than the in¬ 
tense scarlet and black of the Glory pea. 
As a Grafted Plant. —Belgian cultiva¬ 
tors have great success in grafting the 
Glory pea on nearly related leguminous 
shrubs. They formerly used the Bladder 
senna, Colutea arborescens, a half-hardy 
rapid-growing shrub from southern Eu¬ 
rope, as a stock, thus securing vigorous, 
tree-like and long-lived specimens, capable 
of producing immense quantities of bloom. 
It is now claimed that Swainsona coro- 
nillaefolia, very commonly grown by flor¬ 
ists for its pure white pea-like blooms, 
makes a more congenial stock. Magnifi¬ 
cent specimen Glory peas grafted on 
Swainsonas have lately been shown at Eu¬ 
ropean exhibitions. The free-rooting habit 
of Swainsona and its tendency for con¬ 
tinuous bloom doubtless fit it especially well 
for the purpose. It is native to Australia, 
and is hardy on the Pacific coast as far 
north as San Francisco. Tt thrives well 
in a cool temperature, and is usually 
grown under carnation conditions by flor¬ 
ists for Winter bloom. It likes rich, light 
soil, abundant sunlight and moisture, while 
the roots well endure compression in 
good-sized pots or tubs. It will be seen 
that where the Glory pea, with its compar- 
atively feeble and exacting root system, 
can he made to unite with the vigorous 
and easily satisfied Swainsona an immense 
gain is made. The white-flowered Swain¬ 
sona is usually offered under the name of 
S. galegifolia, and plants may almost 
everywhere be had for 15 to 20 cents each, 
or easily grown from cuttings. Those who 
are willing to take some trouble to grow 
unique and striking specimens may exper¬ 
iment with grafts of the Glory pea, grown 
in good-sized pots or boxes until the wood 
is firm, on established stocks of Swain¬ 
sona. We have not tried it, but under¬ 
stand the ordinary splice or cleft graft is 
used, the foliage of the scion rather closely 
trimmed, and the union firmly bound with 
waxed cloth or gutta percha paper until 
growth starts. We have successfully graft¬ 
ed geraniums, tomatoes and other soft- 
wooded perennials in this way. 
Sterilizing Soils. —The sterilization of 
soils in the benches and borders of green¬ 
houses where valuable and repeated crops 
of flowers or vegetables are grown is now 
considered almost a commercial necessity. 
Certain fungus diseases thrive under the 
stimulating conditions of intensive glass¬ 
house culture fully as well as the crop the 
cultivator wants to grow, and often cause 
most discouraging losses. Much can be 
done by intelligent care to ward off the 
worst effects, but there arc no cures, once 
the soil becomes infected, except its com¬ 
plete renewal or thorough disinfection, 
which is best accomplished by heat, moist 
or dry, sufficient to raise the temperature 
of the whole soil mass to, or above, that 
of boiling water. Large operators accom 
plish this by steaming the soil in place by 
a frame made of perforated pipes connect¬ 
ed with a nearby boiler. The frame is 
placed on the soil, an equal depth of soil is 
shoveled over it and then covered with a 
tarpaulin or thick blanket. Steam is ad¬ 
mitted under 15 to 20 pounds pressure, 
and kept on until the whole mass is heated 
to near 300 degrees; then the device is 
moved to a fresh place, and the operation 
repeated until the whole bench or house 
has been gone over. All disease germs 
and insect pests are killed, and the soil 
can only be reinfected by contact with 
new soil, infected implements, water, etc., 
bearing living organisms. The beneficial 
bacteria and germs promoting the decom¬ 
position of manures and releasing soil fer¬ 
tility are also largely destroyed, but they 
are usually quick to re-establish them¬ 
selves, and the crops planted are likely to 
grow to maturity with little disturbance. 
In a smaller way soil is sterilized in steam 
chests or large wooden bins containing 
perforated pipes to distribute steam. A 
common test for temperature and exposure 
in a steam chest is to bury a potato in the 
soil, close the lid and admit steam until 
the potato is cooked tender. Too pro¬ 
longed steaming seems to impair the fer¬ 
tility of the soil, or at least to delay its re¬ 
sponsiveness to cultivation, probably by 
too extensively destroying the benevolent 
germs that are supposed to be more resist¬ 
ant to heat than most disease organisms. 
This method is expensive in that it im¬ 
plies repeated handling of the soil, and is 
particularly useful for ridding the sand 
to be used for cutting propagation of the 
dreaded “cutting bench” fungus, as well as 
for sterilizing batches of soil to be used 
for rare seedlings and the potting of val¬ 
uable plants. 
Use of the Oven. —The amateur with 
limited equipment may often utilize the 
kitchen oven for the purpose of sterilizing 
pots, boxes and small quantities of soil. 
An exposure of 30 minutes to a baking 
temperature is sufficient to purify most 
small articles. It is not necessary to dry 
out soil in the oven. A steaming temper¬ 
ature is sufficient if continued an hour or 
more. A small potato can he bedded in 
the soil, and when tender the soil is likely 
to be well sterilized. We usually take the 
precaution to treat thus the pots, boxes 
and soil, if they have been used for similar 
purposes before, in which we wish to grow 
rare plants, seeds or bulbs, and feel well 
repaid for the trouble. Of course disease 
infection may already be in the plants or 
bulbs themselves, or come later in water 
or from contact in various ways, but the 
chances are much lessened. w. v. f. 
One Operation 
is all it takes to break, crush and 
grind, either fine or coarse, all 
grains tor all feed purposes, 
when you use the 
KELLY 
- DUPLEX 
Crinding Mills 
™ They are the fastest. 
* Immmaimmaamm easiest running, strongest 
and most durable mills made. New double cutters; 
force feed; never choke. Four sizes, any power. 
THE 0. S. KELLY CO., 157 N. Lime St., Springfield, Ohio 
WE LEAD THE WORLD 
We are the largest manufac¬ 
turers of Grooved and Plain 
Tire Steel Farm Wagon 
Wheels in America. We 
guarantee our patent 
Grooved Tire Wheels to 
be the best made by anybody 
anywhere. Write us. 
HAVANA METALWHEELCO. 
BOX 1 7 HAVANA. ILL 
RHODES DOUBLE CUT 
PRUNING SHEAR. 
j Cuts from 
j both sides 
of limb and 
does not 
PAT. 
bruise the 
bark. 
RHODES MFG. CO. 
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. 
Write for 
circular 
and prices. 
of the BEERY BIT 
FOUR OITS IN ONE 
Cure* Kickers, ICunawuyH Fullers, 
Slijers, c(e. Send for hit on Ten 
I)ar*’ Trial and circular showing 
the four distinct ways of using it. 
A Lady cau hold him. Frof. J.Q. Keery, ITeasant 11111, Ohio. 
THOUSANDS HAVE KIDNEY TROUBLE 
AND NEVER SUSPECT IT. 
Mrs. B. Aust/h. 
fa 
An interesting letter to our readers 
from Mrs. E. Austin of New York City. 
Brooklyn, N. Y., Nov. 9th, 1902. 
A little over a year ago I was taken with 
severe pains in my kidneys and bladder. 
They continued to give me trouble for over 
I wo months and f suffered untold misery. I 
became weak, emaciated and very much run 
down. 1 had great difficulty In retaining my 
urine, and was obliged to pass water very 
often night and day. After I had used a 
sample bottle of Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-lioot, 
which you so kindly sent me on my request, 
I experienced great relief. I immediately 
bought of my druggist two large bottles and 
continued taking it regularly. I am pleased 
to say that Swamp-Root cured me entirely. I 
can now stand on my feet all day without 
having any had symptoms whatever. You are 
at liberty to use this testimonial letter if you 
wish. Gratefully yours, 
'tj, (&. 
19 Nassau St. 
The mild and prompt effect of Dr. Kil¬ 
mer's Swamp-Root, the great kidney, 
liver and bladder remedy, is soon realized. 
It stands the highest for its wonderful 
cures of the most distressing cases. Re¬ 
commended and taken by physicians, used 
in hospitals and endorsed by people of 
prominence everywhere. To prove what 
Swamp-Root will do for you a sample 
bottle will be sent absolutely free, by mail, 
also a book telling all about Swamp-Root 
and its wonderful cures. Address Dr. 
Kilmer & Co., Binghamton, N. Y., and be 
sure to mention reading this generous 
offer in New York City Rural New- 
Yorker. 
If you are already convinced that 
Swamp-Root is what you need, you can 
purchase the regular fifty-cent and one- 
dollar size bottles at the drug stores 
everywhere. Don’t make any mistake, 
but remember the name, Swamp-Root,. 
Dr. Kilmer’s Swamp-Root, and the ad¬ 
dress, Binghamton, N. Y., on every bottle. 
/going to bale 
HAY OR STRAW? 
The Alligator Box Press is guaranteed to halo 22 
tons of hay ill 10 hours, or no pay. Hercules, 
large bale press, guaranteed capacity 4 tons an 
hour. Small bale Perpet ual Presses with capacity 
guaranteed greater than any other small press. 
Catalog free, In writing namo this paper. 
J. A. SPENCER 
Dwight, Illinois 
Better Fruits—Better Profits 
Better peaches, apples, pears and 
berries are produced when Potash 
js liberally applied to the soil. To 
insure a full crop, of choicest quality, 
use a fertilizer containing not less 
than io per cent, actual 
Potash 
Send for our practical books of information ; 
they art not advertising pamphlets, booming 
special fertilizers, but are authoritative 
treatises. Sent free for the asking. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS 
93 Nassau St., 
New York. 
MAPLE EVAPORATORS 
Most Durable, Most Economical, Cheapest. 
Syrup Cans and Sap Pails. 
McLANE-SCHANCK HDW. CO., Linesville, Pa. 
Also, Mfrs. of the “Sunlight” Acetylene Gas Machine. 
stillleadsallothers. Sows all Clovers, Alfalfa, Timothy, 
Red Top, all kinds of Crass Seeds, Flax, etc. Special hop¬ 
per for Crain. Sows20to 40 acres per day. Hopper being 
closetotlie ground the wind can not blow the seed away. 
Used thirty years. 200 thousand sold. Catalogue free. 
0. E. THOMPSON & SONS, YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN. 
Red Chief 
Combined Corn 
and 
Pop-Corn Sheller 
(Patented) 
Best hand sheller 
made. Closed hopper, 
can’t pinch fingers, 
adjusts for any size 
ear. 
SHELLS EVERY GRAIN 
and cracks none. Always throws cob outside the vessel. 
Clamps to barrel, keg or straight edge box. Pop-corn 
attachment quickly applied, shells perfectly. Small 
extracost. Special farmers* offer and circular free. 
BRINLY-HARDY CO., 253 Main Street, Louisville, Ky. 
The 
Difference 
These two 
shocks of com 
were cut from 
plots of the 
same size. One 
was and the 
other was not 
fertilzed with 
Nitrate of Soda 
(The Standard Fertilizer) 
I want i,ooo farmers growing corn, in all parts of the United States, to 
make this experiment next sea on. I will furnish the necessary Nitrate 
of Soda ABSOLUTELY FPEE, if the farmer will pay transportation 
charges. The increase in corn and fodder will more than pay the cost. 
Farmers who do not make the experiment should send for “ Food for 
Plants” and other valuable bulletins full of information from Agricul¬ 
tural Experiment Station and field trials. 
They are FREE to all interested who will send name and address on POST CARD. 
WILLIAM S. MYERS, Room 148, 12-16 John Street, NEW YORK. 
