yC ./ . 
.’■i 
666 
September 9, 
Ifrf early -days of the develppmeht'of-ibe 
: tev^r-j)'opular JP-etun.ia. "T-he • ; ’;Common- 
'f ^ar^fervgroiving-,' white-flowered /Brazilian 
■ specie^, P< Nyetaginiflar^ .Had Jkjen-culti¬ 
vated "for ,seyi*ral years previous- to 1830,. 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS when the more delicate P. y.iolacca was| 
The New Cr.mson-Fi..„v E ,«„ ‘Tobacco. -4u M -.kJ,h',,I Ar r «hii.ia. *60 
seed 
derae, sent out by the well-kft'Qhvji 
of Sander & Sons, St:' Albatj^^^^StS$$S4 ami; strij^ sealing* 
and Ghent, Belgium. Thousands of pack- % ^ m^ini.ccnt var.Hn-, 
. So Avictely. ]grown the present day. Most 
hybrids between-species of Nicotiana. are 
steriie, forming no seeds, and must be 
propagated by cuttings or root divisions, 
so that further progress in breeding is 
barred, but if N. Sandera; imparts its seed¬ 
bearing qualities to its further crosses we 
may expect great advances. At any rate, 
continued selection of the best types and 
colors, even without further crossing, will 
be interesting, but a form able to endure 
hot sunshine without closing or drooping 
is much desired. 
TUB RURAL NEW-YORK-BR-: • ;..w ' ' 
* - - ' ' ' ■" ... v -V .V - ' 
. • t , f 
'. v '/■ - j ^ ; - t ;-, v • ' -v * 
js jnuch siniiiarity in its present oats and barley are 
deix;bdbnt On PoTasiI tor proper 
i i • r A : 2c:S 7 Tc;!) 7c 1 1 
ets of seed at the retail price of 25 
each were sown and the plants are now' 
blooming in almost every hamlet in the 
land. The result is not an unmixed de¬ 
light. Nicotiana Sandera; is a gay and 
showy plant when the blooms are fully 
expanded morning and evening, but dur¬ 
ing bright sunlight, and to a less extent 
on cloudy days they droop and close, mak¬ 
ing a weedy and shriveled appearance. 
Fig. 281, page GG3, reduced from a draw¬ 
ing, gives a very good idea of the form 
and aspect of the open flowers. The color 
is usually bright carmine-red, but there are 
endless variations, ranging from light rose 
to purple. Many plants bear blossoms 
rayed and flaked with white and lighter 
shades on deep-red ground. A faint but 
pleasant perfume is given out in the even¬ 
ing. The plant grows three feet high, 
branching extensively from the base, and 
is wonderfully free blooming, being lit¬ 
erally covered with the carmine flowers, 
resembling miniature long-tubed single 
Petunias, from early May until frost, if it 
endures so long. Many of our plants 
show a disposition to collapse in August 
from a root or collar rot, and others are 
troubled with a stem borer, causing large 
branches suddenly to wilt and die. A 
corner of a trial plot on the Rural Grounds 
of this new ornamental tobacco containing 
several hundred plants is shown in Fig. 
282, page 663, giving some idea of its free¬ 
dom of bloom. The tall plant with the 
long-tubed white flowers in center of cut 
is a hybrid between Nicotiana sylvestris 
and the well-known night-blooming, sweet- 
scented species, N. alata or affinis. 
.-Origin of Nicotiana Sanderae. —Pink 
or red is not a rare color in the flowers 
of the genius Nicotiana. The common 
field tobaccos, N. Tabacum and N. rus- 
tica, have handsome pink blooms, deepen¬ 
ing to red and even purple in some gar¬ 
den forms. Other South American spe¬ 
cies have also pink and rose colored flow¬ 
ers. Several years ago M. Forget, an or¬ 
chid collector in the employ of Sander 
& Sons, found in Brazil a new Nicotiana 
with deep crimson flowers, and forwarded 
it to his firm, who grew and submitted it 
to the botanical authorities. It was named 
N. Forgetiana, in honor of the discoverer, 
but proved too delicate in constitution and 
small in bloom for general culture. By 
hybridizing it with the strong-growing 
N. affinis, however, the present attractive 
garden form, N. Sanderae was obtained. 
Other crosses have since been made with 
the lusty and upright N. sylvestris, and 
new varieties, running in color from pure 
white to intense crimson and even blue, 
have been obtained, but are not yet dis¬ 
tributed. N. Sanderae makes a fine and 
longrblooming pot plant and should be 
extremely useful for conservatories and 
window gardens. Its habit of closing dur¬ 
ing sunshine renders it of little value for 
bedding, but it will find a place in mixed 
border and garden plantings. It comes 
fairly true from seeds, which are not very 
plentifully produced in this country, as 
night-flying moths do not appear to pop 
linate it very ^successfully, and our bees 
take a short cut to the nectar by piercing 
the corolla at the base instead of forcing 
their way down the tube and thus distrib¬ 
uting the pollen. If the new varieties are 
better able to withstand our bright sun 
there is little doubt of their prospective 
value. 
Quite Like the Petunia. —The desira¬ 
bility of Nicotiana Sanderae for garden 
decoration is not yet established, but there 
Girdling Grape Vines.—I do not think it 
is practiced very much now, since grapes got 
so low an3 the markets were supplied with 
grapes from the South early in the season. 
The object was to hasten coloring of the fruit 
before the natural time, and get it to market 
before the general crop was ready. It is done 
by taking a ring of bark one-fourth inch wide 
from the arm of the vine bearing fruit, not 
all the arms, but only a portion, as tills would 
destroy the vine. It weakens the vine in pro¬ 
portion to the amount girdled. The quality 
is poor, as such grapes are not ripened, only 
colored. If allowed to remain on the vine 
the natural length of time they will ripen, 
but as the object is to forestall the market 
they are cut and sold as soon as colored. It 
is an outrage upon the consumer, as they are 
not fit to eat: the buyer is disgusted, the 
price is lowered, and the consumption of good 
grapes lessened by the practice. 
WALTER F. TABER. 
Saving Seed. —-Mr Ilulsart’s paper (page 
535) is timely. My experience is that farm¬ 
ers do not know much about the botany of 
grasses and clovers in the first place—not as 
much as they will be obliged to know in an¬ 
other decade; and, in the second place, that 
very lack of knowledge tempts them to se¬ 
lect the cheaper article as distinguished from 
the best. 'The point lies right here.’ There 
are three members of all the leading grass 
and clover families, viz: the rare, common 
and mongrel, the first of which can never be 
cheap. For a small saving in first cost the 
farmer may thus cultivate what is more than 
likely to yield the worst rather than the best 
of its kind. It is for him to determine which 
to buy, and, if he does not know, his ex¬ 
periment station stands always ready to tell 
him. Until such times as professional seeds¬ 
men can be induced to guarantee the variety, 
purity and germinating power of their seeds 
I would rely on the experiment station every 
time and buy on their verdict. My experi¬ 
ence goes back to 180!). when the permanent 
pasture movement began in England, and I 
well remember the steps taken to secure—■ 
and the struggle to avoid giving—guarantees 
by seedsmen. The efforts succeeded, and, curi¬ 
ously, the first result was the prompt dis¬ 
appearance of the “seed peddler.” With re¬ 
gard to garden seeds the case is different.. 
Here there has been a wonderful development 
all along the line, and now I do not believe 
it pays to grow one’s own seeds. Anyway, 
I have found that by consulting the seed 
grower as to what to do, under the condi¬ 
tions as they stood with me, I have had 
uniform success in getting seeds true to 
name and of high germinating power and 
great vigor; and, as I am an advocate of 
change of seed, better adapted to my needs 
than the seeds grown by myself. This does 
not apply to any one seedsman, but to many 
whom I know. jas. l. waldoN. 
Ohio. 
R. N.-Y.—The National Department of 
Agriculture will test seeds if requested to do 
so. 
Chestnut Shingles. —I note some dis¬ 
cussion of chestnut shingles in your columns 
recently. I have used these quite exten ively 
on my farm buildings. They are generally 
considered a durable shingle, the chief ob¬ 
jection being their tendency to warp. This 
is overcome in a great measure by quarter¬ 
sawing the blocks, and we take especial care 
to have that done in making them. 1 have 
one roof in which they have been in use 
now several years, and while there is some 
warping, it has thus far caused no serious 
trouble. fred w. card. 
Rhode Island._ 
‘‘That new hired man works like a 
dog.” “Indeed! Glad to hear it.” “Yes, 
he chased a rat out of the barn and then 
laid himself down in the sun and slept all 
the afternon.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer. 
nourishment to produce full, heavy 
kernels of fine milling quality, and 
strong stalks which do not lodge/' 
A complete fertilizer, containing not 
less than 6 per cent, of actual Potash, 
is best for grain. A larger amount may 
be frequently used with added profit. 
Our books on agriculture will be sent 
free to all farmers who write for them. 
Address, German Kali Works, 93 Nassau Street, New York. 
THE FAMOUS “HAY MAKERS” 
BLACK DIAMOND 
Before Seeding Down, consult us. .. < 
TWE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO,, 
Fertilizer Manufacturers, 
MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT. 
Let Us Send You 
Our Book. 
about good wheels and good wagons that will save 
you a lot of work and moke you a lot of money —the 
ELECTRIC STEEL WHEELS 
——and the- 
ELECTRIC HANDY WAGON. 
By every test, they are the beet. More than one and 
a quarter millions sold. Bpokes united to the 
hub. Can't work loose. A set of our wheels Will 
make your old wagon new. Catalogue free. 
ELECTRIC WHEEL CO.,Box 88, Quincy, Ills. 
WE LEAD THE WORLD 
I 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. 
HAYANA METAL WHEEL CO. 
BOX 17 HAVANA. ILL. 
WICH- 
SELF 
FEED! 
HAY PRESS 
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. 
Spavin cured in its early stages 
Pratts Veterinary Liniment. 
Made by Pratt Food Co., Phila. Over 30 years old. 
r. 
PISOS CURE FOR 
■ 7 
■</> 
Eh 
CURES WHERE ALL ELSE FAILS 
a 
Best Cough Syrup. Tastes Good. 
0 * 
|L0 
Use in time. Sold by druggists. 
EJ 
|(M 
CAB 
_ 
CONSUMPTION 
Monarch 
Hydraulic 
PRESS 
—FOR- 
CIDF.R, WINE, 
etc. Greatest ca¬ 
pacity, best results witli least power. Steel beams, 
sills, etc. Great strength and durability. Safety 
device prevents breakage. Different sizes and capac¬ 
ities. New Special Features This Year. 
Gasoline engines, stationary , portable and traction. 
A. B. Farquhar Co’s. Boilers, Engines, Saw 
Mills, Threshers. Ask for catalogue. 
Monarch Machinery Co.. 
Room 161. 39 Cbrtlandt St., N. Y. Otty. 
Not like any other hog remedy 
Pratts Hog Cholera Cure. 
Made by Pratt Food Co., Phila. Over 30 years old. 
MAKING 
Can be made profitable if the 
right kind of machinery is used. 
WE MAKE THE RIGHT KIND. 
Send for catalogue. 
Boomer & Boschert Press C<x, 
118 West Water St., Syracuse, N. Y. 
PHK CUTAWAY HARROW CO. 
CLARK’S REV. 
BUSH PLOW and HARROW 
Cuts a track 5 feet wide, 1 
foot deep. Connects sub¬ 
soil water. Can plow a 
newly cut forest, stunip, 
bush or bog land. 
CU ARK’S Rbl. ACTION 
CUTAWAY Moves 18,000 
Tons of Earth in a Ray. 
Send for Circulars. 
HIGGANUM, CONN., U.S.A, 
GRAIN DRILL 
The YORK FORCE FEED DRILL combines 
lightness with strength. Most complete drill made. N o 
complex gearing to get out of order. Boxes are close to 
Easily Fully 
G uumuteed 
ground, 
regulates 
quantity 
of seed 
or fer¬ 
tilizer. 
AlViRD- 
ED 601,D 
MEDAL 
Si.Louis 
World’s 
Fair.. 
Weight, 
Only 700 lbs. 
Agents Wanted. 
Write for catalogue. 
THE HENCH & DR0MG0LD CO.. 
Mfrs., York, I'm. Hi UK 1LBO WITH DISC 
