1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
521 
GREENHOUSE WORK IN JULY. 
Chrysanthemums form one of the 
most important Autumn crops in the 
greenhouse, and it is now quite time that 
the young stock of these beautiful flowers 
should be planted on the benches where 
they are to bloom. In order to produce 
the large and long-stemmed Chrysanthe¬ 
mum flowers that are now demanded, it 
becomes necessary to plant the young 
plants in rich soil, similar to that in which 
roses are forced and also to throw all the 
strength of the plants into a very few 
flowers. To do this the growth of the 
plant is confined to from one to three 
shoots, and these are carefully tied up 
and disbudded, and as the growth pro¬ 
gresses the plants are given additional 
stimulation in the form of cow manure, 
poudrette, dried blood and other fertiliz¬ 
ers the extra feeding of this character be¬ 
ing changed from time to time to prevent 
souring the soil and giving the plants a 
kind of indigestion. The time of flower¬ 
ing varies with the different varieties, and 
in selecting a list it would be wise for a 
beginner to be guided by the catalogue of 
some Chrysanthemum specialist, from 
which could be had reliable information 
as to whether a variety is early flowering, 
mid-season or late, remembering that the 
general florist does not need a long list 
of varieties, and that white, yellow and 
pink are the colors most in demand. The 
benches in which the Chrysanthemums are 
grown will only need a depth of about five 
inches of soil, and should have thorough 
drainage by means of wide cracks be¬ 
tween the boards, for while these plants 
are liable to suffer from becoming too dry 
at the root, yet they must not have stag¬ 
nant moisture. The most troublesome in¬ 
sect on the Ch./santhemums at this sea¬ 
son is a kind of aphis, known as black 
fly; when allowed to take possession of 
the young growths it will soon weaken 
and cripple them. The best remedy is a 
frequent application of tobacco dust with 
a powder bellows, and the best time to 
apply it is in the early morning while the 
plants are wet with dew. Abundant ven¬ 
tilation is required both for these plants 
and also for the roses at this season, leav¬ 
ing the ventilators partly open through¬ 
out the night unless there is the proba¬ 
bility that a heavy rain may beat in 
through the open sashes. Many Chrysan¬ 
themums are also planted out in the open 
ground during the Summer, where they 
should be frequently cultivated, and also 
be topped in order to induce a bushy 
growth, such plants being lifted in the 
latter part of the Summer and potted into 
seven or eight-inch pots, and after becom¬ 
ing established therein are fed with liquid 
manure frequently to keep the foliage in 
good condition and to enlarge the flowers 
Summer Lilies. —The Easter lily is not 
the only member of that extensive family 
that is in favor with the flower grower, 
and during the early Summer there are 
many thousands of the bulbs of Lilium 
lancifolium potted into five or six-inch 
pots and started into growth in the green¬ 
house, such bulbs producing their large 
and showy flowers of white and rosy pink 
about September, and often proving very 
useful in decoration work at that season. 
An abundance of water and free ventila¬ 
tion are among the chief requisites in the 
management of these lilies, and with an 
occasional syringing with tobacco water 
or an application of tobacco dust, the 
green aphis may be kept in check. 
Begonias. —Numerous species of Be¬ 
gonias are found in greenhouse collec¬ 
tions, as also in many a window garden, 
and many of these may be readily propa¬ 
gated at this season. Among these one 
of the most attractive as a Winter-flow¬ 
ering plant is that known as B. incarnata, 
a bushy-growing and very free flowering 
variety with bright pink flowers, and one 
that may be propagated readily from cut¬ 
tings during the Summer, and grown on 
into very salable window plants for next 
Winter. Cuttings of the beautiful Be¬ 
gonia Gloire de Lorraine may also be had 
at this time, this variety being so exces¬ 
sively free in bloom that there is some 
difficulty in securing good cuttings early 
in the season. The best cuttings of this 
Begonia are those formed from young 
side shoots or growths from the base of 
the old plants taken off when they are 
about two inches long, and planted in 
sand in a partly shaded poi'tion of the 
greenhouse, but single leaves may also 
be rooted, though these last are likely to 
be much longer in making plants, owing 
to the fact that they have to make a bud 
from which to grow after they are rooted. 
Many of the Begonias are shade-loving 
plants, but yet it is not wise to put too 
heavy a shade over these bushy growing 
sorts, else they make too long and flabby 
a growth, and will not produce as many 
flowers as those that have been given 
more light. 
Propagating Rubber Plants. —During 
these warm months is the most favorable 
time to raise young plants of the common 
rubber plant, Ficus elastica, by means of 
topping. This operation consists in cut¬ 
ting about half way through the young 
shoot of the rubber plant with a sharp 
knife, then placing a thin splinter of wood 
or drawing a cord through the cut to keep 
it open, and then binding a handful of 
swamp moss, or sphagnum around the cut 
shoot, the incision having been made at 
about the third or fourth joint from the 
top of the shoot. The plant is then 
sprinkled with water daily in order to 
keep the moss moist, and in three to 
four weeks the young roots may be seen 
coming through the moss, and when this 
condition is noted the shoot may be cut 
off from the parent plant below the moss, 
and the young plant potted into a three 
or four-inch pot. When potting these 
Ficus tops there should be no attempt to 
remove the moss from the cutting, else the 
young roots are very likely to be broken; 
the new plant will need protection from 
the sun for a few days until it becomes 
established in the soil. The young roses 
should be starting away nicely by this 
time, and should be kept free from weeds 
in the benches, and also have the flower 
buds pinched out as they appear, the sur¬ 
face of the soil being stirred with a 
weeder to prevent baking, but not stirred 
too deeply. w. h. taplin. 
Lime on Moss Grown Land. 
T. F. R., Carmel, N. Y .—I have a field of 
six acres that the moss is getting over in 
places, and has not cut more than one-half 
ton of hay per acre for five or six years 
past. I do not want to plow the field, as it 
is a good way from the house and land a 
little thin on a ridge. How can I make the 
grass grow od the field? What, kind of fer¬ 
tilizer should I use? I sowed last year 
a barrel of wood ashes on a small place 
and the clover lias come in very fine there, 
hut nothing but June grass and daisies on 
the rest of the field. 
A ns. —We should say that the land is 
sour and needs lime. While the growth 
of moss on such land does not always 
mean an acid soil, we consider it good 
evidence. The fact that clover “came in” 
after using wood ashes indicates the need 
of lime. Clover seed will often remain 
for some years dormant in the soil. When 
lime is added the conditions improve and 
the seed sprouts. Wood ashes contain 
35 per cent of lime. The use of lime 
on this soil will bring in some new grass, 
but you cannot expect a good crop until 
you plow and reseed. In any event lime 
alone will not produce crop after crop. 
Other fertilizers must be used, and espe¬ 
cially nitrogen. 
WANT TO KNOW. 
Hand Hay Press. —I would like to know 
if any of your readers have ever used a 
hand-power hay haler of the cheap kind? 
Do they give satisfaction; also price and 
where to buy them. I have never seen 
any. j. b. 
Tamaqua, Pa. 
TUBULAR-or "Back Breaker?” 
When you see the waist low Tubular you can’t be driven into buying a 
back-breaking, “bucket bowl” separator. Can and crank are just the 
right height on the Tubular. Here is the largest Dairy Tubular along 
side four “back breakers.” The girl with her hand on the Tubular is 5 
feet, 4 inches tall. This is an exact reproduction from a photograph. 
Which kind for you? Makers of “back breakers” try to get their cans 
low by setting the cranks low. High cans break your back backward— 
low cranks break it forward. Unless you are a double jointed giant, 
you’ll find a high can is no joke. To show you how high these “back 
breaker” cans really are, when the machines are set high enough to turn 
easily, we raised these “back breakers” ’til their crank axles were level 
with the Tubular crank axle. “Back breaker” makers don’t like this 
picture— it’s too true. They try to squirm out of it. You wouldn’t like 
turning cranks as low as “back breaker” makers put them. 
The low can Is only one of many advantages Dairy Tubulars have over all others. 
Dairy Tubular bowls are simple—“back breakers” are complicated. Tubulars are 
self-oiling—no oil holes to fill up. “Back breakers” are oil drippers and oil wasters. 
To learn a lot more about Tubulars, write today for catalog N-153 
The 
Sharpies Separator 
Company 
West Chester, Pa. 
Chicago, III. 
Toronto, Can. 
BACK 
BMAASfi 
BACK 
8RIAHCZ 
“ Cheapest ” doesn’t always mean the lowest priced, 
certainly does not when applied to cream separators. 
Numerous makes of separators nowadays are offered 
for less than the famous and improved 
U. S. Cream Separators 
Which hold World’s Record for Close Skimming. 
A very short use of those cheap “job-lot” machines 
proves it costs so much to keep them “going” during 
their short life that they’re not “ cheap ’’—even as 
(not to mention their poor results j 
proven that U. S. Separators 
_ _ as a gift- 
Time has conclusively 
ARE LEAST EXPENSIVE 
because the cost to maintain them is so small in com¬ 
parison with their long and unequalled service. 
Fond Du Lac, Wis., September 15, 1904. 
“TV whom it may concern:—! have used one of your U. S. Separators for the past 
twelve years and it has given the very best satisfaction. I have paid 75 cents for extras 
since getting the machine. I cannot recommend the U. S. too highly._J. BALSON.” 
Our handsome Dairy Separator catalogue tells all about the splendid 
construction that makes possible such testimony as this. Get it now, it’s 
free, and you 11 find it interesting, we know. 
VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
408 Prompt Deliveries, from 18 Distributing Warehouses throughout United States and Canada 
WHITMAN’S"^ 
LARGE5T 8t MOST P 
GUARANTEED 
ALSO LARGE LINE FIR 
s em D 
WHITMAN-AGS 
^<r A esse G s 
E IN AMERICA. 
/E NO EQUAL 
-J LTU RAL MACH IN ERY 
logue. 
LOUIS,MO. 
Received the GRA.NJJ RRIZB. hiqhest award, on Belt and Horse Presses, World’s Fair. Si Louis, 
E. ID. WATKINS, State Agent, Xjima, 3ST. Y, 
Hallock’s Elevator” Potato Digger 
We wish to introduce our O. K. Elevator Potato Digger in every petato-growing 
locality in the United States. 
We have several valuable features not found in any other Elevator Digger. They 
will interest you as soon as you know them. 
We desire correspondence only from those looking for an A No. 1 Potato Digger 
at a minimum price. 
Address, D. Y. Hallock & Sons, Box 803, York, Pa. 
