558 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
yy TT t W'W T 'T * ▼ 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
The Seedsmen’s Convention —The 
twenty-fifth annual convention of the 
American Seed Trade Association was 
recently held in New York City. Being 
generally ver- prosperous citizens, the 
seedsmen foregathered at one of the ex¬ 
clusive uptown hotels and for three days, 
with intermissions for stately banquets, 
discussed government free seed distribu¬ 
tion, transportation problems, advertising 
features and catalogue making. 1 lie 
questions of actual seed production and 
handling were very lightly touched upon, 
about the only papers on these important 
subjects being contributed by non-com¬ 
mercial government experts. As a mat¬ 
ter of fact modern seedsmen do not pro¬ 
duce seeds. They are merchants only 
and replenish their stocks through elab¬ 
orate systems of contracts with growers 
and dealers throughout the world. While 
meeting at conventions on the common 
ground of the advancement of their busi¬ 
ness they are chary of giving out details 
of their operations. American seedsmen 
are, with rare exceptions, highly intelli¬ 
gent, energetic and honorable men, en¬ 
gaged in a difficult but necessary and 
interesting occupation. The successful 
seedsman is usually an individual of va¬ 
ried attainments and keen discrimination, 
in touch with growers and planters of 
seeds in every imaginable locality, near 
and distant, and watchful of the effects 
of all conceivable variations of soil and 
climate as they affect the production and 
quality of the commodities in which he 
deals. He must plan far ahead and be 
able to meet all contingencies of seed 
shortage as well as overproduction. That 
(he American seed business is, on the 
whole, exceedingly well managed is evi¬ 
dent by its enormous expansion and the 
confidence it retains among planters to 
whom reliable seeds are almost the first 
necessity of existence. May it long live 
and prosper. 
The California Seed Boom.— The cli¬ 
mate of California has so shown its fit¬ 
ness for seed production and the enter¬ 
prise of her growers is so keen that Cali¬ 
fornia-grown seeds, both flower and vege¬ 
table, in great variety bid fair to displace 
the products of other portions of the 
world. Many kinds are so plentifully 
produced that they find their way into 
the most distant markets, to the exclusion 
of home products. “California-grown” 
has taken the place of “northern-grown 
as an advertising catchword and by sheer 
insistence is made to imply special merit 
in the mind of the casual buyer. Plant¬ 
ers, however, are beginning to realize that 
any obvious superiority of Pacific coast 
seeds over those of home production lies 
in the special skill and care of the grower 
and not in the locality. Comparative 
trials often show that California seeds 
have a tendency to rapid deterioration of 
type, possibly because the stimulating cli¬ 
mate favors too heavy setting, causing 
loss of vitality in individual seeds. In 
practice it is becoming evident that to 
keep up the high grades needed by com¬ 
mercial gardeners it is necessary to con¬ 
tinue growing the stock seeds of many 
varieties here in the East under normal 
conditions, but careful supervision, and 
from these revitalized seeds produce the 
commercial seed crop in California. This 
is not the case with all varieties, espe¬ 
cially such heat-loving legumes as the 
Lima bean, which is at home under the 
cloudless skies and ardent sun of Califor¬ 
nia and yields far better than with us. 
The “northern-grown” idea has nearly 
passed. Except that some inclination to 
early maturity is favored by seed growing 
in high latitudes there appeared nothing 
to justify the great claims made. When 
economic and climatic conditions do not 
forbid seeds are best grown where the 
subsequent crop is to be produced. 
The Best Camassia —The quamash, or 
Camassia is one of the hated poison plants 
or loco weeds of the western plains, caus¬ 
ing a considerable loss of sheep on many 
of the ranges, but it is in no other way 
detrimental to human kind and is really 
a pretty bulbous plant, the nearest Amer¬ 
ican ally of the old world Scillas and 
Hyacinths. The bulbs contain a large 
quantity of mucilage that is converted 
into edible material by long baking and 
have been for ages a fairly important ar¬ 
ticle of diet among western Indians. 
Four or five species are already recog- 1 
nized by botailists and it is likely the 
genus will he taken in hand some time 
by a scientific enthusiast and broken up 
into many more. Their range is from 
Texas to British America, everywhere in 
the Rocky mountain region, one coming 
east almost to Pennsylvania. Camassias 
CAMASSIA CUSICKI. MUCH REDUCED IN 
SIZE. Fig. 274. 
have found their way into cultivation 
within the last 20 years and are generally 
offered by all bulb dealers. The most 
common species, or rather type, is C. 
esculenta, growing about 15 inches high, 
with dark purple flowers in a neat spike. 
It is cheap, hardy and abundant, but bet¬ 
ter kinds are C. Cusicki, of which a flow¬ 
er spike, much reduced in size, is shown 
in Fig. 274, and C. Leichtlini, the tallest 
and largest flowered of all. Cusicki has 
a large, solid bulb and quite broad and 
decorative foliage. It blooms in early 
May, the spike growing two feet high, and 
bearing nearly a hundred flowers, which 
open in long succession. They are more 
than an inch across and of a pleasing- 
pale porcelain blue color. Leichtlini has 
darker, narrow, upright leaves and the 
spike often exceeds three feet in height. 
The type has cream-white flowers, over 
two inches in diameter, but there are va¬ 
rieties with even larger rich blue-purple 
blooms. Some authorities claim the col¬ 
ored ones are not true Leichtlini, but the 
fact remains that they are the most 
showy of the genus. We are told a west¬ 
ern plant breeder is concentrating his ex¬ 
ertions on the purple forms of Leichtlini 
and is expecting to produce something 
startling in the way of new varieties. Ca¬ 
massias are susceptible to variation under 
cultivation and some good seedlings of 
varied colors have already been raised 
abroad and in this country. Both C. 
Cusicki and C. Leichtlini are hardy and 
long-lived plants. Bulbs planted seven 
years ago on the Rural Grounds increase 
in vigor and throw up better flower spikes 
each succeeding year. They are planted 
in ordinary soil in light shade and receive 
absolutely no care with the exception of 
a mulch of old manure each Winter. 1 hey 
look best against a background of shrubs. 
_ w. v. f. 
Crimson Clover in Corn. 
./. Tt. G., Edinburg, Va .—I have 10 acres 
in corn that I want to use for corn another 
year. I have thought to sow in Crimson 
clover at last cultivation, about July 20, cover 
lightly with a light 10-tooth hand-made culti¬ 
vator, going one round to each row. Land 
is good clover and Timothy sod; has been 
well cultivated. Which is preferable, Crim¬ 
son clover or Hairy vetch? By sowing in 
July, will the Crimson clover be large enough 
to mow by May 10. or will it be more profit¬ 
able to turn the whole crop under? I shall 
want the field for corn for several years. 
Ans. —From our own experience we 
should use the Crimson clover; 12 pounds 
to the acre at the last cultivation of the 
corn. With such culture we think the 
Crimson will give better results than 
vetch. The Crimson ought to be large 
enough, in your section, by May 10 to 
give good hay. With us the question of 
mowing or plowing clover would depend 
on our need for hay. If we could get 
along without it we should plow the 
clover under. By doing this year after 
year and using some potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid as fertilizer, we could raise 
good corn crops for several years. 
July 20, 
GET THE BEST 
A Good Spray Pump earns big 
profits and lasts for years. 
THE ECLIPSE 
is a good pump. As 
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we were using common 
sprayers in our own orchards 
—found their defects and 
invented the Eclipse. Its 
success forced us to manu- 
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L--You take no chances. We 
• ; "--'.vr.-.;:v.v.v;-'----'l have done all the experi¬ 
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Treatise on spraying FREE. 
MORRILL & MORLEY. Ber.ton Harbor, Mich. 
r Save Your Trees 
Kill San Jose Scale and other destructive 
parasites with a spraying solution of 
Good’s Soap No. 3 
Sure death to insects. No sulphur, salt, mineral 
oils, or any substance harmful to plant life. En¬ 
dorsed by U.S.Dept.of Agriculture. Pocket Manual 
of cause, treatment and cure of tree diseases, free. 
Write today. JAMES GOOD, 
()righia^^hdter^t4j^NJhjontJ5^^^hiladelj}hia^ 
Use Fairmount Brand 
Concentrated Bordeaux Mixture 
To one gallon add 49 gallons of water 
and it is ready for use. Only makers 
Fairmount Chemical Laboratory, 
N. W. Corner Broad St. and Fairmount Ave., 
Philadelphia, Pc. 
Caldwell Tanks, Towers 
and Wind Mills 
solve your water supply troubles perman 
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lasting a lifetime without repairs and provid" 
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purposes. Plenty of outfits giving this Her 
vice right around yon. Illustrated catalogue 
for the asking. 
W. E. CALDWELL CO M Louisville, Ky. 
(S.,r) Towers 
Wind Mills, Pumps, Gas Engines. 
1907 — (potato digger, 
PATENT 
APPLIED FOR 
If you’re 
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a digger you 
want the best 
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We propose to ship you one of 
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give you an opportunity to test it 
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See for yourself just what it 
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D. Y. HALLQCK 
& SONS, 
Box 812, York, Pa. 
%£# s . oMS 
III®. s ■ 
A Never Failing Water Supply, 
with absolute safety, at small cost may bo had by using the 
Improved Rider Hot Air Pumping Engine and 
Improved Ericsson Hot Air Pumping Engine. 
Built by us for more than 30 years and sold in every country in the world. Exclu¬ 
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So well built that their durability is yet to be determined, engines which were sold 
30 years ago being still in active service. 
Send stamp for “C4” Catalogue to nearest office. 
RIDER-ERICSSON ENGINE CO., 
35 Warren St., New York. 
40 Dearborn St., Chicago. 
40 Jiorth 7th St., Philadelphia. 22 Pitt St., Sydney, N. S. W 
Amargura 96, Havana, Cuba. 
239 Franklin St., Boston. 
234 Craig St., West, Montreal, P. (J. r ^7 
