474 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 17, 
uralisms • 
► 
fully grown for home adornment in the 
Far South and in the Pacific States. Sev¬ 
eral species of lilac are cultivated, all of 
which are natives of Central and Eastern 
Asia. All are good, but the common or 
garden lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is by far 
the most useful as well as ornamental 
w 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Local Fruit Prospects. —The end of 
May does not reveal flattering prospects 
for tree fruits. Peaches and plums had a 
tolerable show of bloom, notwithstanding 
widespread injuries from cold and San 
Jose scale, which was not appreciably 
checked hereabouts by any of the insecti¬ 
cide sprays used last year, but the flow¬ 
ering period was so disturbed by alter¬ 
nating frosts, fogs and cold winds that 
all chances of a full crop were effectually 
destroyed. There is a light set on young 
trees and older ones that failed to bear 
well last year. The Domestica plums are 
in much better condition than the Japans 
and the natives best of all. Cherries fared 
better, though the weather was generally 
too cold during bloom to favor pollina¬ 
tion by insects. Sweet varieties are fairly 
filled; sour kinds set less freely, but seem 
more likely to perfect their fruits. Apple 
blooms were irregularly distributed and 
generally scanty, except on trees stripped 
by early September gales last season. 
There is promise of a light crop of Sum¬ 
mer and early Fall varieties, but the 
Winter sorts are not in condition to bear 
well after the fine yield last year. Kieffer 
pears bloomed at a favorable time, catch¬ 
ing the best days of the month, and are 
fully set. They have been off-crop in this 
locality for the last two years, and should 
be now in condition to make up for lost 
time. European pears start out better 
than anticipated, but the trees are so gen¬ 
erally infested with scale, most notice¬ 
ably the Bartletts, that only a trifling yield 
may be expected. Quinces look well, and 
are holding an ample supply of young 
fruits. 
Small Fruits Better.— The outlook for 
small fruits is decidedly more cheerful. 
Blackberries and raspberries came through 
the Winter better than could be expected, 
considering the great injuries inflicted on 
plants heretofore regarded as quite hardy, 
and are well laden with bloom, but dew¬ 
berries were killed to the snow line, re¬ 
gardless of variety. Strawberries received 
the advantage of good snow protection 
and wintered splendidly. There has been 
profuse bloom, and a heavy set of young 
berries. The earliest flowers had their 
centers blackened by frost, but enough 
good buds were left to provide a heavy 
crop. 1 he chances have, however, been 
lessened by drought, practically no rain 
having fallen from the middle of April 
until May 28, when the soil was soaked 
by a most welcome shower. More will be 
needed to carry through the crop, but 
good early pickings seem assured at this 
writing. Currants and gooseberries are 
quite promising, where not troubled with 
scale. The Currant worm appeared in 
greater force than for several years, but 
has been controlled by careful growers. 
Grapes start very slowly, owing to cold 
weather. The past two cool Summers have 
perceptibly diminished the vitality of all 
but Isabella, McPike and a few specially 
rugged varieties. Juneberries, both tree 
and Success, the dwarf kind, are loaded 
with fruit and clothed with dense and 
healthy foliage. The blooms opened on 
favorable days, while the cold, boisterous 
weather that followed had little unfavor¬ 
able effect on these hardy natives. 
A Grand New Lilac. —“As hardy as an 
oak” loses much of its significance as a 
commendatory phrase in view of the sever¬ 
ities of the past two Winters. Pin oaks, 
10 years planted, were killed in Boston 
parks, and the Willow-leaved oak cut back 
to some extent in Philadelphia. There 
are many hardy oaks, a few species grow¬ 
ing naturally almost to the Arctic Circle, 
but there are also many tender ones. The 
Live oak of the Gulf States will not en¬ 
dure Winters north of Charleston, and the 
Evergreen or Ilex oak of Europe does not 
thrive far from the shores of the Mediter¬ 
ranean Sea. Most of the California oaks 
are tender, or at most half hardy in the 
Atlantic States. The garden lilac, how¬ 
ever, is so thoroughly resistant to Winter 
cold in all localities where planted that 
it may be taken as a practical standard 
of hardiness. In Manitoba the lilac is 
one of few ornamental shrubs that can 
be relied on to pass through the Winter 
without harm, and it is just as success- 
member of the genus. From the garden¬ 
er’s standpoint it has been magnificently 
improved in recent years, chiefly by 
French growers, and we now have single 
and double flowered varieties of great 
size and perfection, with a range of color 
from white to dark red-purple. There is 
a long list of fancy new kinds which have 
been largely planted in public parks and 
botanic gardens, but few of which are 
well known to amateurs. The habit has 
been improved as well as the flowers, and 
the plants quickly make shapely dwarf 
shrubs clothed with bloom, in their sea¬ 
son, from base to summit. These named 
varieties are often grafted on privet 
stocks, but grow better and last longer 
when worked on seedling lilac roots. It 
is said they thrive exceptionally well on 
the European ash, Fraxinus excelsior, but 
plants on this stock are seldom offered in 
this country. Strong grafted plants that 
should bloom the year after planting 
are offered by first-class nurseries at 50 
cents to $1 each, according to scarcity of 
variety. For the best results the soil for 
these beautiful lilacs should be deeply dug 
and well manured before planting. They 
transplant easily and grow under almost 
any conditions, but it is worth some 
trouble to grow perfect specimens. They 
are best planted six or seven feet apart 
to have room for full development, and 
should then remain in enjoyable condi¬ 
tion for a lifetime. Not all the new kinds 
are equally attractive; some have good 
colors, but the panicles of bloom are stiff 
and stodgy in form, and the florets, espe¬ 
cially of the double ones, hard and awk¬ 
ward in form. Others are free and grace¬ 
ful in outline and harmonious in color 
and poise as they develop on the plant. 
Fig. 197, first page, shows the bloom truss 
much reduced in size of Michael Buchner, 
one of the less known of the newer vari¬ 
eties. 1 he plant is very dwarf and blooms 
early. The panicle is very large and often 
composed of four masses instead of two, 
as shown in the cut; the flowers are 
double, pale lilac in color, and very fra¬ 
grant. It is a distinct and meritorious 
variety, the blossoms being particularly 
lasting. Our plant was received five years 
ago from Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester, 
N. Y.; is now five feet high, and has 
bloomed four seasons, carrying dozens of 
these massive panicles at the same time. 
Some Good Varieties. —Well-tested 
varieties of the highest merit are Marie 
Legraye, single white, and Charles X., red 
ish purple, single, both extensively used 
for forcing under glass; President Grevy, 
light bluish purple, very large and double; 
Madame Lemoine, splendid double white; 
Ludwig Spaeth, large, single, dark red, 
the finest of its color; Michael Buchner, 
described above, and Frau Dammann, sin¬ 
gle white, dwarf and very profuse in 
bloom. There are many other good ones, 
but the above, if well grown, make a col¬ 
lection in which any amateur may well 
take pride. _ w. v. F. 
Lime the Tree. —“The troubles of a New 
Hampshire man,” as stated on page 341, have 
enlisted my interest to the extent of a sim¬ 
ple suggestion for their removal. In the first 
place, don’t cut that tree. A tree only 30 
years old, and still capable of growing a full 
crop of fruit to nearly its full size, ought 
to survive another quarter century of use¬ 
fulness. If of the Flemish Beautv variety, 
its age indicates that in respect to frult- 
bearing it has not passed its prime. So in¬ 
stead of cutting down a tree that is suffering 
from a deficient soil, apply a liberal dressing 
of slaked lime, say one peck, upon the sur¬ 
face, and confidently await an entirely favor¬ 
able result. Some other kinds of pears are 
similarly affected, but the same treatment is 
a specific for all. p. p. c. 
Hartford, Conn. 
Testing Cotton-Seed Meal. —tEvery year 
some one asks how inferior cotton-seed meal 
can be detected. The following test recent¬ 
ly printed in a bulletin from the Maine 
Experiment Station originally appeared in 
The R. N.-Y., written by Prof. E. B. Voor- 
hees: “A first-class cotton-seed meal should 
contain over 40 per cent protein and about 
9 per cent fat. It should be a light yellow 
color. If it is dark in color with many fine 
black specks, it indicates that ground hulls 
have been added. If it is a rusty brown 
color, it indicates that the meal is oid or the 
material has at some time undergone fermen¬ 
tation. Such meals are not safe to use. 
The texture of the meal should be about the 
same as finely ground cornmeal, and it 
should be practically free from cotton lint. 
The presence and amount of lint can be de¬ 
termined by sifting a portion in a flour or 
meal sieve. The cotton fiber will remain in 
the sieve. The lint and hulls are also quite 
easily detected by stirring the meal up with 
water. Put one teaspoonful in half a glass 
of water, mix thoroughly and allow the mix¬ 
ture to stand a few minutes to settle. The 
black hulls will be found on the bottom and 
can be seen through the glass. The good 
meal will be in the next layer and the lint 
on top. A first-class meal should show only 
a few black hulls and scarcely any lint.” 
Bathroom Problems. —4 must praise you 
for your effort to collect and disseminate in¬ 
formation concerning the construction of 
bathrooms in dwellings. In my section where 
we have some Winters nearly six months of 
snow, with the mercury at 40 or more below 
zero, some mornings, with houses heated only 
by stoves and wood for fuel, the greatest prob¬ 
lem connected with bathroom construction is 
the heating of the room. p. e. l. 
Penobscot Co., Me. 
Just as They Are 
The cut shows them—catalog I-103 tells 
all about them. Notice the low supply 
can, bottom feed, wholly enclosed gears, 
absence of oil cups or holes. No other 
separator has those advantages. 
Thi Sharpies Co. P. M. ShirpUt 
Chicago, 111, Wait Chester. Pa. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
WICH- 
SELF 
FEED 
Two 
Horse 
The Baler for speed. Bales 12 to 18 tons a day. 
Has 40 inch feed hole. Adapted to bank barn 
work. Stands up to its work—no digging holes 
for wheels. ' Self-feed Attachment increases 
capacity, lessens labor, makes better bales and 
does not increase draft. Send for catalogue.' 
Sandwich Mfg. Co., 157 Main St., Sandwich, Ills. 
No doubt about 
Pratts Animal Regulator. 
Made by Pratt Food Co., Phila. Over 30 years old. 
CUTTERS 
AND SHREDDEH8 
FOR EN8ILAGC & DRY 
FODDER. Also Latest 
Improvements in.Car- 
rierr. HARDER MFG. CO,, Boi 11, Coblttklll. N. V. 
WITH THE 
EMPIRE KING. 
The only hand pump having a me- 
,, chanical automatic agitator with a 
I brush for keeping the suction strainer 
II clean. Also the Garfield Knapsack and 
Orchard Monarch. Can furnish the New 
Process Lime,which requires no slack¬ 
ing or • training. Valuabl* book fro«. No 
“dwindled feeling” I f you use our pumpa. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO.. 
8 I Ith St., Elmira, N.Y. 
“Lightning” White- 
Wash Sprayer No, 28 
White-wash your poultry-houses and stables. 
Kills lice and vei min. Kasy to operate. Sprays 
white-wash rapidly. Impossible to clog. Also 
for spraying trees, washing wagons, etc. 
Double action pump, will spray 30 ft. high, 
has a 1-2 feet heavy hose, extension-rod, brass 
nozzles, steel stirrup, ball valves. All brass 
pump, $3.60, Galvanized Iron, $2.60. Cash 
with order. Express prepaid. Agents wanted. 
1J. B. Smith & Co., Utica, N.Y. 
Hubbard’s “Black Diamond” Fertilizers 
All Brands ready for immediate shipment. Our book “HUBBARD’S FERTILIZERS 
FOR 1905” sent free to any address. 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD COMPANY, Fertilizer Manufacturers - Middletown, Conn. 
