"Uhe RURAL N E W-YO K K E R 
921 
RURALISMS 
Galls on Roses 
Enclosed find a branch of mess vo./' 
bush. What are these little fruits. 0i 
whatever they are? Are they the res'A 
of disea.se or insect stings? They do not 
seem to injure the bush, as it still has fine 
bloom. j. H. 
Ileloit, O. 
The little ball-shaped “fruits” on the 
rose leaves are galls produced by the 
puncture of an insect, belonging to a 
group commonly called gall-flies. The 
“oak apples” produced on oak trees, and 
“Pinxter apples” on the native Azalea 
(properly rhododendron) or Pinxter 
flower, are produced in the same way. 
The little grub or larva of the fly will 
he found inside the gall. They do little or 
no harm to the roses, but as a measure 
of precaution we would remove and burn 
the affected leaves. 
Culture of Foxgloves 
I should like some information on the 
culture of foxgloves or Digitalis. The 
seed catalogues all say that they are very 
easy to rear. I have a border of hardy 
flowers, and .succeed admirably with nearly 
all perennials, but foxgloves will not 
thrive. I have raised them from seed, 
brought the seedlings from a colder cli¬ 
mate. and set out and bought choice plants 
from various seed houses. They grow 
and do well the first Summer after plant¬ 
ing. but the next Spring they are either 
all dead or they die through the Spring. 
I have never succeeded in getting but one 
to bloom. Roses, irises, larkspur and other 
perennials do beautifully in this border. 
It has the sun all day. The soil is loam, 
well drained. M. E. 
Mystic, Conn. 
In our own garden the foxglove self¬ 
sows each season ; thus there are always 
young plants coming on. They should be 
treated as biennials; occasionally they 
live over the second year, but with us 
very rarely. If they are sown in Spring, 
or as soon as the seed is ripe, when home¬ 
grown, they will flower the next season, 
and then die out. The purcha.sed plants 
should have bloomed the first year you 
planted them. They would naturally die 
out the following Spring. We have had 
poor success with seedlings started too 
late and stunted by drought, and also 
where the plants were winter-killed by 
heaving out, or by being smothered by a 
coating of ice remaining over the crowns. 
The foxglove prefers a soil rich in leaf 
mold, its natural home being in open 
spaces in woodlands; close, clayey soil, 
baking in Summer, is very uncongenial. 
The imiuirrer does not describe soil, but 
we suggest that friable loam, enriched 
with leaf mold, be tried; a sprinkling of 
bone dust about April encourages the 
flowers. Give the young plants a light 
mulch over Winter to avoid heaving. Gur 
plants (in Northern New .Tersey) were 
killed last Winter in one border with 
clayey soil, but survived where the soil 
was more congenial, without mulch, the 
sea.son being exceptionally severe. It is 
worth making repeated trials with fox¬ 
gloves. for the seed is cheap, and success 
gives exceptional beauty in the garden. 
Perennials With Hollyhocks 
1. Will someone who has had experi¬ 
ence suggest a very hardy perennial, able 
to endure our S(‘vere Vermont Winters, of 
the proper height to plant in front of 
hollyhocks? I should be willing to have 
the plant “multiply” and produce a group, 
but not to such an extent as Golden 
Glow. 2. Will Yucca multiply? A. 
Vermont. 
1. The large Allegheny hollyhocks at¬ 
tain a height of seven or eight feet, but 
there are dwarf forms that do not exceed 
four or five feet in height, and a very 
pretty effect may be had by planting the 
giants in the background, smaller varieties 
next to them, and finally the dwarfs in the 
front row. Gne of the prettiest combina¬ 
tions, along this line, that I have ever no¬ 
ticed consisted of a double row of tall 
hollyhocks in the background, sci'oening 
an unsightly fence. Next was a row of 
larkspur, and then one of monkshood, an¬ 
other of I'hlox, aTid lastly one of pa?onies. 
The pmonies formed a wall of green in 
front of a bank of bloom rising in succes¬ 
sive terraces from a height of three fc'ct 
to the background nearly eight feet high. 
All of these plants show great variation 
in color, and as much depends upon a 
proper blending and harmonizing of the 
colors as upon u selection of varieties. 
The hollyhock is especially subject to a 
form of rust which frequently destroys the 
foliage and thus renders the i)lant un¬ 
sightly, even though it may not materially 
injure the blossoms. A frequent sjjraying 
with Bordeaux or with lime-sulphur .solu¬ 
tion will check this rust. 
2. There are a great many species of 
yuccas, and several species of agaves are 
popularly known as yuccas, while several 
specie of yuccas are popularly known as 
agaves, though there is comparatively lit¬ 
tle resemblance between them. All are 
natives of the arid regions of Mexico and 
Arizona, and none is adapted to Vermont 
conditions. Many of the yuccas are im¬ 
portant fiber plants, the fiber being used 
extensively in the manufacture of brushes, 
and somewhat in the manufacture of cord¬ 
age and matting. The clumps increase to 
an immense size, and sometimes send out 
offshoots, but they do not “multiply” in 
the ordinary sense of the word. c. o. o. 
Propagating Currants and Climbing Roses 
1. I have some fine currant bushes that 
I desire to slip. When can I tiike cut¬ 
tings and how should I proceed? 2. When 
and how is the best way to get oittings 
from the Dorothy Perkins rose? C. E. J. 
Riverside, Conn. 
Take currant cuttings in the Fall, one- 
year shoots, cutting them with knife or 
shears; broken stems do not callus well. 
The cutting should have eight to 12 eyes 
or buds. Tie in bundles, and bury in a 
well-drained si)ot over Winter, butts up. 
This enables the butts to callus without 
starting growth in the tops. In the 
Spring, as early as the ground permits, 
the cuttings are set in rows two or three 
inches apart, exposing about two of the 
upper buds. Clean cultivation should be 
given. If it is not convenient to take the 
cuttings in the Fall, they may be taken 
in early Spring, and planted like the 
trenched cuttings. 
2. It is very easy to root Dorothy Per¬ 
kins either from layers or cuttings. Take 
ripened wood (we usually take some of 
the shoots that have ceased flowering) 
and make cuttings six or eight inches long. 
Set these in the garden, where the soil is 
inclined to be sandy, water, and cover 
with an inverted glass jar. No further 
attention is needed, except to keep weeds 
from encroahing around the cuttings. By 
next Spring they shotiTd be well rooted, 
and ready for setting in their permanent 
position. When the Summer is moist .and 
cool the glass cover is not really needed, 
and we often root these cuttings without 
it. Tiayering is a very easy way to in¬ 
crease such roses ; a shoot of ripem'd wood 
is bent down with a “heel” of bark sliced 
<a little at the desired point, which is 
buried and held in pLace by a hooked peg. 
leaving the top free. The following Spring 
this tip, with its roots, is cut off and 
planted. This is an easy way to increase 
gooseberries. 
Propagating Butterfly Bush 
Gn page <S57. C. E. S. of Lookeba, Gkla., 
asks how to propagate the butterfly bush. 
This bush is known botanically as Budd- 
leia variabilis, and is a native of China. 
It was brought to this country by E. II. 
Wilson, the horticultural explorer. Flow¬ 
ers are borne in long spikes, lavender in 
color. The shrub grows about five feet 
high and in New England is usually 
hardy with protection. Three hybrids 
have developed from the original and one 
is as follows: B. variabilis magnifica, 
violet purple; B. v. superba, lilac; B. v. 
Veitchi.ana, violet mauve. All are propa* 
gated from half-mature wood in moist 
sand with a slight shade. 
IMassachusetts. fraxk .t. mcgrkook. 
Nkw Asparagus.— Prof. J. B. Norton 
of the National Department of Agricul¬ 
ture has heen for ,a number of years at 
Work in efforts to develop new strains of 
asparagus which will prove an improve¬ 
ment over the varieties now commonly 
u.sed. lie has now develoiied two strains 
which are known as Mary and Martha 
Washington, jind they give great promise 
as market varieties. These strains are 
(piite different froin Reading Giant and 
other varieties which have proved very 
poinilar with American growers. The 
American inarket demands green aspara¬ 
gus, _ and in trying to develop these new 
strains an effort was made to produce a 
money-maker, with not .so much attention 
paid to its ability to withstand the rust 
(Hsea.se. _ In other words, a profitable va¬ 
riety. suited to the American market, was 
tlu‘ first thing desired. Very careful 
work in treating these .strains has been 
carried on. This new asparagus is this 
year beginning to come into market undei* 
practical conditions, and is giving excel¬ 
lent satisfaction wherever it goes. 
BE PARTICULAR ABOUT 
SEED BEDS 
Sizes 
2, 3 and 4 
Bottom 
JOHN^DEERE TRACTOR PLOWS 
AND TRACTOR DISC HARROWS 
It pays to be particular 
about your seed beds. They are the 
basis of your profits. A little differ¬ 
ence in your seed-bed-making at the 
beginning of the crop season often 
makes a big difference in your profit¬ 
taking at the end of the crop season. 
It’s just as easy to make 
good seed beds behind your tractor 
as it is to make seed beds that are 
“just fair.” Use a John Deere Trac¬ 
tor Plow and a John Deere Tractor 
Disc Harrow. They can be relied on 
for the best of seed beds. They have 
special advantages that have proved 
themselves in thousands of fields. 
See these better seed-bed 
making implements at your John 
Deere dealer’s. He can furnish sizes 
to suit your Tractor. 
JOHN DEERE, Moline, Illinois 
No More Singing Spindles 
Mica Axle Grease ends squeaking, 
friction-bound axles and hot-boxes. 
Makes it easier for the horse and 
less expensive for the owner. The 
finely ground mica fills spindle 
crevices and makes a perfect bear¬ 
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MICA 
AXLE GREASE 
Enreka Harness Oil prevents cracking and 
breaking, makes leather soft and pliable. 
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Principal Offices 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West Thirtieth Street, New York 
