6x8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 11, 
; Pluralisms 
▼T??TT 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Hot and Humid. —Tropical weathei 
conditions are to be expected in July, 
but it is many years since such excessive 
murkiness has prevailed at this season. 
Clouds, fogs, haze and very frequent 
showers for the last three weeks have re¬ 
duced sunlight to the minimum, while 
rather high seasonal temperatures have 
been maintained. Trees, shrubs, grasses 
and heat-loving vegetables are growing 
at an unprecedented rate, but dry-weath¬ 
er subjects, such as geraniums. Coleus 
and similar bedding plants languish ac¬ 
cordingly. 1 here is much rot among 
plums and grapes, but peaches are unex¬ 
pectedly free from the disease. Greens- 
borough and Sneed are ripening with 
scarcely five per cent loss. Triumph and 
Alexander are more affected, but able to 
mature half a crop. Carman, Waddell, 
Champion and late sorts are not visibly 
affected, but August fogs may yet undo 
them. The earliest plums, such as Ber¬ 
ger, received under the name of Yosebe, 
and Burbank’s First, both ripening from 
July 10 to 18, were almost unaffected by 
rot. Shiro and Abundance show consid¬ 
erable infection; Burbank. Satsuma and 
Red June, as usual, are nearly total 
losses and the same may be said of many 
midseason Domestica varieties. America, 
Gonzales and Occident remain in good 
condition, and will probably ripen heavy 
crops. Bartlett rotted almost to the last 
plum, and about half of the very fine 
fruits on Waugh, a hybrid between Cha- 
bot and Wayland, sent out By J. W. Kerr, 
of Maryland, have succumbed to the fun¬ 
gus. Native varieties are little affected. 
Milton is now coloring, and appears, as 
heretofore, to be practically immune. 
Pears and Apples will be plentiful if 
spared unusual gales before maturity. Le 
Contes and Kieffers are carrying heavy 
crops that will require thinning for best 
results. Some fungus troubles show on 
the foliage of the latter in damp locali¬ 
ties. Bartlett and other Europeans prom¬ 
ise better than for several years. Apples 
are growing rapidly. Yellow Transparent, 
Astrachan and other earlies have never 
been finer. 
Raspberries, both black and red, were 
short in crop and soft from excessive rain, 
but the demand was good and quality bet¬ 
ter than expected. 
Blackberries promise an enormous 
crop. 1 he mild Winter spared the canes, 
and every wayside bush is loaded. Among 
the newer varieties Ward distinguishes 
itself by freedom from disease and the 
unusually heavy loading of the canes with 
firm, very black berries of splendid qual¬ 
ity. It appears eminently successful as 
a commercial variety in this, its home 
county, and good reports of its behavior 
in other localities are coming in. Rubus 
phoenicolasius, the half-forgotten “wine- 
berry,” is also phenomenally fruitful. 
This is an Oriental bramble' fruit, never 
likely to be much appreciated, but so or¬ 
namental and productive when its mod¬ 
est requirements are met, and the berries 
so bright in color and sprightly in qual¬ 
ity, that it merits a place in every garden 
where variety in fruits is a consideration. 
It does not thrive under high culture, but 
appears to detest cultivation, meddlesome 
pruning and ov^r-fertilization. Give it an 
odd nook of rich, moist soil, partial shade 
will not injure it—and let it alone, only 
cutting out the old, dead canes in Spring, 
and shortening in the bearing wood to a,, 
reasonable degree, and it will reward you, 
if the \\ inters are not too severe, with 
an abundance of handsome and palatable 
berries, ripening with the earliest black¬ 
berries, and making an attractive mixture 
with them for table service. They are 
not good for wine and do not cook well 
in any manner, but are most acceptable, 
when liked, as a cool dessert. Plants sel¬ 
dom bear well until established several 
years, but hold their own without culti¬ 
vation indefinitely if suited. Our plot is 
in the dampest portion of the Rural 
Grounds, and grows more fruitful every 
year. We would not like to say how many 
quarts of berries were picked from an 
area of perhaps half a square rod. The 
wineberry is frequently injured by sharp 
frosts, and some seasons the crop is lost 
by catbirds picking the unripe berries just 
a they begin to color. 
Weeds and Weeds. —-Moisture-loving 
weeds grow rankly, and it is a difficult 
task properly to cultivate crops between 
the incessant showers. Crab-grass and 
purslane, usually the pests of the mid¬ 
summer gardener, find conditions too 
moist to be exceptionally troublesome. 
They occupy the^ old stand, however, 
ready to strike out when drier conditions 
arrive, and must be as vigilantly fought 
as ever. We may uproot them, but even 
the youngsters will not die out until 
treated with a dose of hot, dry sunshine. 
As a compensation it is an excellent time 
to clear fallow land of dock and carrot. 
Even the longest rooted ones pull easily. 
Hardy Herbaceous Flowering Plants. 
—Never was there such general demand 
for hardy “old-fashioned” plants. Every¬ 
one appears to be planting hardy borders, 
and even the varieties most easily raised 
from seed sell well in the form of plants 
ready to bloom the same season. Nurser¬ 
ies are unable to keep up stocks of the 
popular kinds and seeds, long lists of 
which formerly lay uncalled for in seeds¬ 
men’s warehouses, are in brisk demand, 
many sorts in extremely small supply. 
This is a most encouraging reaction from 
the recent exclusive devotion to formal 
bedding plants and other subjects needing 
glasshouse care during some portion of 
the year. There is a wealth of real beauty 
in hardy plants that can never be found 
in tender exotics, desirable as they are in 
their place, a variety in habit and unex¬ 
pectedness of effect in their culture that 
never dulls, even with long experience 
and familiarity. Thousands of plants are 
now grown and sold where dozens form¬ 
erly sufficed. The list of available kinds 
is long, running well into the hundreds, 
and meritorious novelties are constantly 
added, both by plant breeding and bo 
tanical discovery. It needs several de¬ 
cades of gardening experience to become 
even passably well acquainted with the 
hardy flowering plants that may be suc¬ 
cessfully grown in any special locality, so 
that the occupation does not rapidly pall. 
Many of the best kinds are so readily 
grown from seeds that any farm gar¬ 
dener, willing to wait a season or two, 
may have them economically, but those 
in a hurry for results naturally purchase 
plants, which range in price from 15 
cents to $2 each, according to variety 
and facility of propagation. It would 
appear a very profitable business to grow 
Sweet Williams and hollyhocks for even 
the lowest of the two prices, but the 
hardy plant nurseryman is under much 
expense in fighting weeds and keeping 
up a succession of thrifty young plants 
to offer at just the proper age and size. 
Perennial weeds are the bane of the 
hardy plant nursery, just as they are of 
the strawberry grower. At the present 
cost and scarcity of labor he cannot eco¬ 
nomically keep out the weeds and, like 
the strawberry grower, he must abandon 
his plots or plow them down every sec¬ 
ond or third year, making new plantings 
annually to take their places. w. f. v. 
For Fire 
Rex Flintkote Roofing is 
the best protection against 
fire. It keeps outside fires from 
getting in, and inside fires from 
getting out. It is not a tarred 
paper, but a close pressed 
wool-felt, treated with our spe¬ 
cial water and fire-resisting 
compound. Fire-brands 
falling upon it smoulder 
and die. Firesstarted 
in buildings roofed 
with Rex Flintkote 
have consumed 
half the rafters, 
and still left 
I 
ForWater 
th 
roo 
intact 
ling 
Rex Flintkote 
keeps poultry 
and hay from de¬ 
struction by wet; 
even slush may lie 
indefinitely upon Rex 
Flintkote and not a 
drop will penetrate. 
Samples FREE with booklet on roofing’. 
Our sit, ial red paint produces artistic ef¬ 
fects on R<-x Flintkote. Inclose 4 cents in 
Stamps for L»ook./*lJow to Make Poultry Pay.” 
J. A. & W. Bird & Co., 7U India St., Boston 
Agents 
everywhere 
|l* ■ 
ilia*! 
INDRUROID 
ROOFING 
Eequires no Coating: or 
Paint. 
Acid and Alkali Proof. 
Elastic and Pliable 
Always. 
Strong: and Toug-h. 
Absolutely Waterproof. 
Climatic Changes Do Not 
Affect It. 
Practically Fire Proof. 
Can Be Used on Steep or 
Flat Surfaces. 
Any Workman Can Put 
It On. 
No Odor. 
Will not Shrink or Crack 
Light in Weight. 
Does not Taint Water. 
Write for samplos, prices and 
circulars. 
H. F. WATSON CO. 
ERIE, PA. 
Chicago, Boston. 
Mention R.N.-Y. 
m>mm 
i HEAVIEST FENCE MADE j 
9 8teelWlre. WeL<.«cdvanized. Weighs 
more than most fences. 1 to 85c per rod 
delivered. We sell all kinds offence wire at 
wholesale prices. Write for fence book Show'S 
lng llOstyles. The ItrownFenceandj 
Wire Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 
68 Tons 
HAY 
In Ten Hours 
We can prove it. 
Ask for free 
catalogue. 
Baler. 
Ami Arbor Machine Co. 
Box 64, Ann Arbor, Mich. 
No More Hand Pumping 
No coal. No steam. No oil. No packing or labor. 
No Cost for Motive Power 
NIAGARA AUTOMATIC PUMP 
(Hydraulic Kam) 
works night and clay on any brook 
creek, riverorrunning water. 
Used and endorsed by Gov¬ 
ernments, railroads and 
public institutions, farmers, 
owners of factories, country 
homes and mines. Write to-i 
day for free booklet. f 
Niagara Hydraulic Engine Co. 
HO NASSAU 8 TBEEET, NEW YORK. Factory; Chester, Pa. 
SAN JOSE SCALE 
and other INSECTS killed by 
GOOD’S 
Caustic Potash Whale-Oil Soap No. 3 
Endorsed by U. S.Dept. of Agrl. and State Experiment 
Stations. This soap is a Fertilizer as well as an Insecti¬ 
cide. 60-lb. kegs. 12.50; 100-lb. kegs, $4.50; half barrel, 
2T01b.,3^cper . b; barrel.425 lb..3hjc. Send for booklet. 
.JAMES GOOD, Original Maker, 
939-41 N. Front Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
MORE GOOD CIDER 
can be made from a given amount 
of apples with ono of our presses 
than with any other. The 
juice will be purer and bring 
higher prices; the extra 
yield soon pays for the 
press. We make 
HYDRAULIC IZ'L 
In all sites hand or power. ' 
25 to 300 barrels per day 
Also Boilers, Saw-Mills, 
Steam-Evaporators, Apple- £ 
butter Cookers, eto. Fully 
guaranteed. Catalog FKEE. 
The Hydraulic Press Mfg. Co. 
12 Main St., Ml. Gilead. Ohio _ 
Im/ or Room 124 f 39 Cortland St.. New York, N. Y. 
NEVER WEARS OUT. 
80 per cent saved on strength and durability. Write for 
prices and full particulars. Car load lots only. Address 
The H.B.Canip Co.,BessemerBldg.,Pittsbiirg,Pp.. 
HORSE POWERS 
thrashers 
and CLEANERS 
One & two-horse Thrashing Outfits. Level PMTTCDC 
Tread, Perfect Governor, Feed & Ensiluge uU I I LIlO 
- ----J & Ensilage 
Write for catalogue 
ELLIS KEYSTONE AGR’L WORKS, Pottstown, 
Pa. 
CIDER 
AND WINE PRESSES 
HAND AND POWER 
manufactured by 
THE 0. J. EMENY CO.. FULTON, N. Y. 
Successors to EMPIRE STATE PRESS Co ' 
Send for free Illustrated Catalogue. 
THEY LAST FOREVER 
STANDARD 
S1EEL FENCE POSTS. 
Are to be Driven 
ONE-THIRD CHEAPER 
THAN WOOD POSTS. 
Can bo used with plain, barb or 
woven wire fencing. Posts made 
for all requirements. Over 75,eeo 
sold. Twenty miles of fencing 
erected on one estate. Write for 
circulars,price list and reference to 
J. H. DOWNS. 
235 Broadway, N. Y. 
Factory near Pittsburg. 
Do Your Own 
Threshing 
with a Fearless Thresher. 
Always ready. Cleans per¬ 
fectly; saves all the grain. 
Small crew; small power required. Easy and convenient 
to operate. Also Silos, Cutters, Powers, Manure Spreaders. 
Write for catalog wanted. 
HARDER MFG. CO., Box 11, Cobleskill, N. Y. 
! The Potato Digger 
For Fast Clean 
Work is the 
DOWDEN 
Simple, strong, always In 
In all soils, all <’ 
-. . 7order.Works 
-1 soils, all depths, bill- NsJjr side and level. 
No cutting and none missed. ^^Potatoes al¬ 
ways clean, lying on top of ground. Works well 
in heavy tops. Send for free catalogue. 
Dowden Mfg. Co., Box 622, Prairie City, Iowa. 
HUBBARD’S 
sinctf 1891 tlhZCr that hold8 the record for BIG GRASS, 
a)ii/ U a(ldress U ** ubbard ' s Fertilizers for 1006,” sent free to 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO., MIDDLETOWN, CONN. 
CRASS AND CRAIN 
FERTILIZER 
FOR FALL SEEDING 
MARDI 
