1910. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
31 
Ruralisms 
HYBRIDIZING GLADIOLUS. 
Early Morning.— The garden Gladi¬ 
olus, owing to the large size of the 
blooms and their open character, is one 
of the easiest of plants to fertilize, or 
rather pollinate, artificially. Healthy 
vigorous plants should be selected for 
seed bearers, and the bloom spike sup¬ 
ported with a firm stake. The blooms 
should be visited in early morning as 
they open, and the anthers removed be¬ 
fore they have shed pollen, with the 
fingers, or better with slender forceps, 
taking care not to injure the style or the 
three-parted stigma, which will be ready 
to receive pollen about midday in 
bright weather or late in afternoon, or 
even next day if cloudy or dull. The 
blooms should, immediately after the 
anthers have been removed, be covered 
with thin cheesecloth, or “bobinet,” 
firmly tied or pinned in such a manner 
as effectually to keep out bees and visit¬ 
ing insects. Ordinary mosquito netting 
will not serve after it has been wet with 
dew or rain, as the mesh becomes so 
THE BACK YARD. 
With the advance of civilization and 
the lawn mower, many nice lawns may 
be seen in front of farm dwellings. 
These tend to increase the happiness of 
passersby. How about the happiness of 
the farmer’s own family? The back yard 
is not always a thing of beauty,—if not 
why not? Room for one or two groups 
of shrubs and small trees can usually be 
found, and these can with a moderate 
amount of care be made interesting for 
12 months in each year. Evergreens and 
flowers, annual and perennial, may be 
added. A back door view is given in 
Fig. 11. The tall tree at the rear of 
the right hand or south group is a 
golden poplar. The golden foliage, 
though not much in favor, certainly 
gives diversity and lends interest to a 
group. Nearer in front we find a maple 
of no known species, of the Norway 
maple tvpe, but more beautiful. Below 
this to the rear we have dwarf cut-leaved 
maples, a Uirca palustris or leatherwood 
and other shrubs. In front a semi-circu¬ 
lar low hedge of Spinea Thunbergii. Its 
narrow leaves of a distinct pea green 
color and its bushy compact growth I 
make it an ideal hedge plant, and yet 
it is the only hedge of this Spiraea that' 
I have seen. It blooms early, but its 
bloom is not so conspicuous as others. 
VIEW OF A CANADIAN BACK YARD. Fig. 11. 
loose that energetic little pollen-carrying 
bees force their way through, often en¬ 
tirely spoiling results. The pollen-bear¬ 
ing blooms should be carefully selected 
to open the same day and should be as 
well protected with muslin or fine net¬ 
ting as possible to prevent robbery of 
pollen. 
About Noon, when the anthers are 
covered with dry dust-like pollen they 
can be pinched out with forceps and 
carried to the seed-bearing spikes in a 
covered dish to protect from wind. The 
anthers may be taken separately in the 
fingers, or with forceps, and lightly 
brushed over the stigmas, which should 
be erect and open if they have reached 
the receptive stage. One anther will usu¬ 
ally suffice for a seed bloom if pollen is 
abundant, but in some of the lighter- 
colored varieties it is scantily produced 
and several may be needed. Occasionally 
the anther valves do not open freely 
enough to permit the escape of pollen, 
which may then be taken out with a 
narrow-bladcd penknife, or better with a 
little instrument made of a flattened pin 
fixed in a wooden handle. The pollina¬ 
ted blooms should immediately be cov¬ 
ered with the netting, which should re¬ 
main until they fade. If conveniences 
are at hand the work may be rapidly 
accomplished—several hundred pollina¬ 
tions being made in a clear day by an 
active worker. Pollen can also be used 
from cut blooms, the spikes being kept 
in water in a light room, free from flies 
or bees, but it gradually loses power 
when the upper blooms open under such 
artificial conditions. If the work is care¬ 
fully done the resulting seeds will pro¬ 
duce hybrids or cross-brcds as the case 
may be, and it is always possible that 
the ideal sought for may appear among 
the number. White garden Gladioli ap¬ 
pear to be albinos, however, and rarely 
produce white seedlings with sufficient 
vigor to increase with commercial rapid¬ 
ity. Best results may probably be looked 
for in crossing the finest procurable 
whites and yellows together, though the 
raising of seedlings from choice white 
or very light kinds, both self-pollinated 
and inter-hybridized, should not be neg¬ 
lected by the breeder desirous of im¬ 
proving existing varieties. 
W. VAN FLEET. 
Just beyond the pump in the northern 
group we see a Spiraea which carries 
many cymose flowers of a pinkish red 
color. To the rear of this we have some 
lilacs, and still farther back we have a 
'1 eas Weeping Russian mulberry about 
15 feet high. Its drooping leaves refuse 
to hold the snow, which occasionally 
falls before the leaves fall. South of the 
mulberry is a broad-topped Althaea which 
blooms freely in August and September. J 
Quite near the pump is a dwarf moun¬ 
tain pine good for 12 months each year. 
To the south of this is a broad-topped 
Rosa rugosa, able and willing to stand 
off cattle, horses, boys and all such. He 
that encroacheth must meet many diverse 
thorns on each branch. Rosa rugosa 
makes amends by showing a foliage ru¬ 
gose and magnificent and a bloom that 
is almost continuous in the growing 
season. The seed balls that follow the 
bloom resemble crab-apples. Behind 
each group is a Black Eagle cherry tree 
over HO years old. These are willing to 
furnish over $20 worth of cherries in a 
good season, hence are useful as well as 
ornamental. The early morning view in 
Autumn and Spring when the sun rises 
through the spray of Niagara Falls (two 
miles distant) gives us a special added 
feature. e. morden. 
Welland Co., Ontario. 
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The secret of success in 
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The two layers of glass do 
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Forcing Asparagus in Four or Five Weeks 
LONG BEFORE FRESH GREEN ASPARAGUS NOW COMES TO MARKET. 
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