93o 
December 15, 
• Ruralisms • 
3 ^ r T T ty VW^ r~ T’ V » 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
The Austrian .Pine. — Nurserymen 
quite agree that the Austrian pine, the 
hardiest and most vigorous variety 
of Pinus Laricio, the CoTsican or 
South European pine, is one of the 
most desirable, evergreens for plant¬ 
ing in poor or thin soils, and for 
shelter belts everywhere in cold or ex¬ 
posed situations. As a matter of fact, it 
grows almost equally well in clay, if not 
too wet, and forms when young beautiful 
specimen trees, not out of place in the 
finest lawns. While not as widely popular 
as the Norway spruce it is being more 
freely planted as its merits become known. 
Fig. 420, page 927, shows a group planted 
12 years ago on a barren sandy slope ad¬ 
joining the Rural Grounds. Nursery- 
grown trees three or four feet high were 
set about eight feet apart in irregular 
rows, alternating the spaces wherever pos¬ 
sible. Grass and brush between were kept 
down with the scythe until the branches 
came together, four or live years later. 
Growth has since been rapid, many of the 
trees being over 20 feet high and eight to 
10 inches through at the base. As the 
grove is now included in ornamental 
home grounds the lower limbs have been 
cut away, and a thin sod is maintained 
under the trees by removing in early 
Spring the fallen needles and raking in 
grass seeds suitable for shady situations. 
Norway spruces planted at the same time, 
in similar soil, are taller, but gaunt and 
leggy in appearance. The Austrian pin$ 
is compact and rounded in growth when 
it has a chance to develop. 1 he needles 
are verv firm and dark in color, giving the 
tree a sturdy appearance lacking in many 
tall-growing conifers. In its native home 
it reaches 150 feet in height, but there are 
few mature specimens in this country. It 
is well adapted for planting near the sea, 
as the rigid needles are little affected by 
wind and spray. When thus exposed, 
however, the trees may deteriorate after 
20 to 25 years’ growth. Nursery-grown 
seedlings for home planting may be had 
as low as $1 the hundred for four to six- 
inch sizes. Larger transplanted trees suit¬ 
able for lawn specimens cost 40 cents to 
$1 each. 
Vagaries of the Season. —The abnor¬ 
mally warm and moist Summer was fol¬ 
lowed, locally, by an unusually murky Au¬ 
tumn. Keen frosts have not been lack¬ 
ing, but the temperature has been so gen¬ 
erally. mild that fair roses of the hybrid 
Rugosa type could be noticed in sheltered 
situations as late as November 20. Even 
now, in the early days of December, Tea 
roses hold more or less green foliage. 
Such mild and humid conditions often 
favor the late and untimely swelling of 
bloom buds in fruit and ornamental trees, 
but little of this is now seen except among 
Azaleas and Rhododendrons, the buds of 
which are much disorganized, both native 
and exotic species being affected. Fruit 
buds appear firm and well-formed, while 
the foliage generally ripened in good con¬ 
dition. Fungus troubles were not as evi¬ 
dent as might be expected from so moist 
a season. Quince trees lost their foliage 
in July, but leafed out again later and 
moderate amount of injury was noted 
among cherries. Monilia blight affected 
the young growth of native plum trees, 
' and, in the form of brown rot of peach 
and plum fruit, did immense damage. The 
black rot in grapes was almost universal, 
and practically swept away the remnants 
' of the crop left by Rose beetles. Among 
vegetables Lima beans and celery were 
most affected. Some large plantings of 
pole Limas were abandoned on account of 
mildew destroying the pods, and Celery 
blight was distressingly evident in Sep¬ 
tember. but the plants rallied later, and 
favored by mild weather made fair 
growth. Other garden crops grew ex¬ 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
ceedingly well. There were enormous 
crops of both field and table corn, the lat¬ 
ter forming one of the most profitable 
items of the trucking year. The pollina¬ 
tion of field corn was in some instances 
threatened by continuous rains, but the 
outcome showed the ears to be generally 
well filled. 
Good Second Hay Crop. —The heaviest 
and best crop of late hay for many years 
was secured. The main early crop was 
considerably damaged by slow curing and 
frequent showers, but the deficiency was 
in most cases more than made up by the 
luxuriant second growth helped by fairly 
favorable weather when harvesting. Po¬ 
tatoes were quite free from blight, but 
there was some rot among the tubers in 
low ground. Sweet potatoes ran too much 
to vine exceot on the driest uplands, but 
the quality of the crop is better than an¬ 
ticipated. Melon blight appeared later, 
and was rather less destructive than in 
previous years. Spraying with Bordeaux 
Mixture was beneficial, but the effect did 
not appear as marked as in drier Sum¬ 
mers. Asparagus was little harmed by 
rust. Most plantings show infection, but 
the tops grew tall and remained green un¬ 
til the end of the growing season. Straw¬ 
berries and bush fruits found the humid 
conditions unusually favorable for devel¬ 
opment. The berry crops were not ab¬ 
normally large, but generally of good 
quality. Strawberry foliage is now rich¬ 
ly colored, the crowns appear numerous 
and well developed, and there is a nota¬ 
ble absence of late blossoms. Taken al¬ 
together, a wet season, though trying to 
energetic individuals, is horticulturally far 
preferable to a droughty one. 
Natural Spread of Exotic Shrubs.— 
While picking windfall apples from under 
a drooping tree growing in a well-drained 
situation we noted young seedlings of the 
following exotic shrubs. Some were quite 
numerous—possibly a hundred individuals 
—and of others only one or two speci¬ 
mens could be found. The popular or 
nursery name is given where possible; 
California privet, Ibota privet, Japan 
honeysuckle, Thunberg’s barberry, Euro¬ 
pean barberry (purple-leaved type), 
Elaeagnus longipes. Tartarian honey¬ 
suckle, Rosa Wicluiraiana, Rosa multiflora. 
Golden Mayberry (Rubus microphyllus), 
and Wineberry (R. phoenicolasius). This 
seems to be quite an extensive collection 
to be found under the protection of a 
single tree within the space of a few 
square rods. There were, of course, some 
seedlings of native species—an elder or 
two, wild cherries and Red cedars—but 
the exotics greatly predominated, the seeds 
having evidently been carried by birds 
from nearby nurseries. These seedlings 
are all one to three years old, cultivation 
having ceased under the tree four years 
ago. Weeds and grass have since been 
kept down by the scythe. The recent 
rainy Summers and the shade cast by the 
drooping branches made ideal conditions 
for the germination of seeds of wqody 
plants, and they came up in unusual num¬ 
bers. It is rather an impressive example 
of the ability of fruit-eating birds to dis¬ 
seminate the plants that contribute to their 
existence. w. v. F. 
When you write advertisers mention Ti:e 
I t. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
SOLID COMFORT 
Is what the FARMER seeks when driving in 
Winter and this may be easily at tained by using 
a celebrated 
LEHMAN HEATER 
They are universally known and recognized 
as the STANDARD carriage, wagon and sleigh 
Heater. 350,000 LEHMAN HEATERS are in 
actual use; they burn Lehman Coal, from which 
there is no smoke, smell or danger of fire, and 
they can be operated at the cost of 2 cts. per day. 
LEHMAN HEATERS are in use by FARM¬ 
ERS. Horsemen and the medical profession 
everywhere. Have you one? 
A LEHMAN HEATER will make an Ideal 
Xmas Gift. Write for booklet telling more about 
them, mentioning The Rural New-Yorker. 
LEHMAN BROS., MFRS., 10 BOND STREET, NEW YORK. 
J. W. ERRINOER, Gen’l West. Sales Agt. 
45 E. Congress St., Chicago, III. 
}^“Beware of imitations. Get Lehman’s if you 
wish the Best. Refuse substitutes. 
ELY’S 
Dandy Hay Knife 
will do the work of an extra man. 
thereby saving more than its cost 
in one day. Can be used for cutting 
sod from ditches. Made of malle¬ 
able iron and steel, with oil-tem¬ 
pered steel knives. Combination 
hand and foot power makes it easy 
to work. Insist on having Ely’s 
because It has many important 
advantages over other kinds. 
If your dealer doesn’t keep them, write 
us and we’ll see that you get one. Write 
* to-day for free catalogue. 
THEO. J. ELY MFG. CO., Girard, Pa. 
High Grade Door 
2-0 x 6-0, All Whit© Pine. 
Regular Prioe, $2.00 
ONLY 
80 ° 
If you have any use for doors, win- 
E tadom, Btorm sash, moulding, porch 
brackets, columns and millwork, for 
_your own buildings, or as contractor, 
tfSg (4 SjJ 3 don’t buy elsewhoro at any price or 
KK9 9 vL £ under any circumstances until you get 
M £5 V the Grand Millwork Catalog which 
M nj ■/. makes a clean saving of 60% on any 
S a GzS v dealer’s prices. It makes no ditfer- 
'Ajjjgi ence where you live. If you intend to 
build, or if yon need millwork forany 
purpose, do not think of buying until 
you get onr estimate. Our goods are 
high grade as well as wonderfully low 
in i,rice. Our lumberis tirst air-dried 
Bnd then, as an extra precaution, ia 
put through a scientific drying pro¬ 
cess. Joints are made with heavy 
hardwood dowel pins, glued with im¬ 
ported glue, pressed together by heavy 
'Jl steam power press. There is no 
“come apart” to our work. 
Door panels have a heavy raise on both sides. The 
panels are sandpapered on a special machine of our 
own invention before the door is put together, and 
the entire is then smoothed with fine-grained sand¬ 
paper. We guarantee our goods to be strictly up to 
the official grade adopted by the Sash. Door & Blind 
Manufacturers’ Association of the Northwest. 
We operate the largest mill in the world— 163,000 feet 
of floor space (four acres)—have been in business since 
1865 —own our timber lands, sawmills and lumber 
yards We carrv a large stock and can therefore ship 
promptly. We have no traveling men—sell only for 
cash. We are the only large manufacturers of sash, 
doors and blinds selling direct tothe consumer. Our 
irices will astonish you. Don’t buy anything in our 
ine until you get our catalog, ths grandest woodwork 
oatalog published. It’s Free —write for it toduy. 
Address 
CORDON VAN TINE & CO. 
Station a 29 Davenport. Iowa 
ICE 
CUTTING ‘•ISP 
Hade 
1b Three 
Size*. 
with 
BORSCH All Steel, Double- 
Bow ICE PLOWS. Marks aud 
viiu two rows at a time; outs any size cake 
and any depth, and does it with ease and economy. 
Does the work of twenty men sawing by band. Rays for itselfW 
Wo days. No farmer, dairyman, hotel man or other can afford to 
be without It. Ask for catalogue and introductory prices. 
4ohaDorieh<kSona, 22Q Wells Ht—Milw aukee. W la. 
Lightning Rods 
hg-iuch Soft Copper (’able for ID cents 
per foot 
Send for samples and particulars to 
T. THOMPSON, 
1102 So. 6th. St., Burlington, Iowa. 
The Neatest Thing on the Farm 
Makes Stable Work Lighter, 
Saves Time and Labor. 
Soon Pays for Itself, 
Can go anywhere by curves and switches. 
Hook the same car to our lurge ensilage 
pan and feed the stock in one half the 
time. Cars made to run on steel channel 
track, heavy wire, or cable, as desired. 
Positive chain hoist. Pans will rest on 
floor and not tip over; made of galvan¬ 
ized iron. Can he installed for special purposes in works or factories. 
Send a sketch of your requirements and we will send you full description 
and an estimate of cost. 
The Climax 
Feed and Litter 
Carrier. 
Warsaw-WilkiivsoiY Co., 50 Highland Ave., Warsaw, N. Y. 
Manufacturers of Climax Pneumatic Ensilage Cutters, Climax Feed and Litter Carriers. 
MUSCULAR 
AILMENTS 
The Old-Monk-Cure will 
straighten out a contracted 
muscle in a jiffy. 
ST 
JACOBS 
OIL 
Don’t play possum with pain, 
but ’tends strictly to business. 
Price 25c and 50c * 
(m 
' ANY claims are made for elevated car¬ 
riers for barn use but the fact re¬ 
mains that more “Drews" are in use 
today than all other makes combined. 
Why,—Mr Farmer? For the simple reason 
that the “Drew” is the best and cheapest car¬ 
rier made. It is the most practical. It is 
the only device that carries its 
load to any desired point, drops 
it, and returns automatically, 
ready to receive another load. 
By its use you not only save 
money, time, work and worry, 
but also health. Its use keeps 
the barn and yard scrupulously 
clean, offering an easy means of 
Automatic 
DREW 
Carrier 
preventing the accumulation of 
disease breeding litter. 
It is this feature of cleanliness that makes 
the “Drew" so necessary to up-to-date, pro¬ 
gressive Dairymen. Used almost everywhere. 
WRITE FOR FREE 
Drew Elevated Carrier Co., 115 Monroe St., 
Branch Office and WarehouseRome, N, Y 
But,—litter and manure are only a small 
part of the possible uses to which the Auto¬ 
matic Drew Carrier can be put. 
It is a valuable and practical conveyor of 
many other commodities, as, for example, the 
carrying of Ensilage, Feed, Grain, Potatoes, 
Coal, Boxes,Milk Cans, Vegetables, Water,etc. 
Now, here’s what we will do 
for you: 
We will send you an Automatic 
Drew Carrier Outfit complete, 
with detailed instructions for 
setting it up. 
You can try it thirty days, and 
if you do not find that it will do 
the work exactly as represented 
in every respect, we will refund 
every penny you have paid. 
may deposit the price with 
be paid to 
If you wish, you may 
your own bank, the money not to 
us until everything is satisfactory. 
CATALOG TODAY. 
Waterloo, WIs. 
