438 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
March  17,  1923 
New  England  Notes 
New  Plants  for  the  Home  Garden 
Testing  Novelties. — It  may  be  true, 
as  the  proverb  says,  that  old  friends  are 
best.  Nevertheless,  the  making  of  new 
friends  is  one  of  life’s  sweetest  pleas¬ 
ures.  This  is  as  true  in  the  garden  as 
elsewhere.  None  of  us  wishes  to  give  up 
the  old-fashioned  plants  which  we  have 
known  from  childhood,  and  which  have 
woven  themselves  closely  into  our  affec¬ 
tions.  At  the  same  time  we  cannot  well 
ignore  the  beautifully  new  flowers,  as 
well  as  the  improved  vegetables  and 
fruits,  which  are  constantly  coming  from 
i he  hands  of  hybridizers.  It  is  true,  no 
doubt,  that  many  of  the  introductions  ex¬ 
ploited  in  the  catalogues  are  much  less 
meritorious  than  their  introducers  seem 
to  think.  Often,  indeed,  some  of  the 
widely  heralded  new  varieties  are  dis¬ 
tinctly  inferior  to  those  which  we  have 
been  growing  for  some  years.  Neverthe¬ 
less  an  occasional  treasure  is  discovered, 
the  value  of  which  justifies  all  the  time 
and  energy  which  we  have  put  into  the 
search. 
Zinnias. — Years  ago  the  Zinnia  was 
considered  rather  a  coarse  flower.  Now. 
however,  it  is  coming  to  the  front  as  one 
of  the  choicest  blooms  for  cutting.  It 
has  been  improved  to  a  surprising  extent, 
and  the  newer  colors,  especially  those  of 
the  pastel  shades,  are  very  beautiful. 
One  of  the  newer  varieties,  called  the 
Dahlia  Zinnia,  resembles  a  small  Dahlia 
so  closely  that  there  would  be  difficulty 
in  distinguishing  them  if  it  were  not'  for 
the  difference  in  the  character  of  the 
foliage.  People  who  grow  out-door  flow¬ 
ers  for  the  market  have  found  the  Zin¬ 
nia  especially  profitable  for  the  last  two 
seasons. 
New  Shrubs. — In  the  past  nursery¬ 
men  have  been  rather  slow  to  take  up 
the  newer  shrubs,  probably  because  years 
must  elapse  before  a  heavy  market  can 
be  obtained  for  novelties  of  this  class. 
Quarantine  No.  37,  which  prohibits  the 
importation  of  foreign  plants,  has  stimu¬ 
lated  the  growing  of  novelties  to  an  in¬ 
creased  extent.  Some  of  the  newer 
shrubs  which  are  now  being  put  out  have 
exceptional  merits  and  deserve  a  place 
in  gardens  everywhere.  The  Japanese 
witch  hazels  have  already  been  mentioned 
in  thesec  olumns.  They  are  as  unique 
as  they  are  interesting,  and  adapt  them¬ 
selves  readily  to  any  location,  in  coun¬ 
try  or  city  gardens.  Then  there  is  Vi¬ 
burnum  Carlesi  from  Korea.  This  is 
not  a  plant  of  striking  beauty,  but  it 
flowers  very  early,  far  ahead  of  the  other 
Viburnums,  and  the  dainty  pink  blooms 
have  a  very  powerful  odor,  closely  re¬ 
sembling  that  of  the  trailing  arbutus,  or, 
as  it  is  called  in  New  England,  the  May¬ 
flower.  Another  foreign  shrub,  this  one 
coming  from  Japan,  is  Enkianthus  japon- 
icus,  sometimes  called  the  Japanese  bell¬ 
flower.  This  shrub  makes  a  large  bush, 
and  in  early  Summer  is  covered  with  a 
wealth  of  small,  bell-like  blooms.  It  is 
almost  as  handsome  again  in  the  Fall 
because  of  the  brilliant  color  taken  on 
by  its  foliage.  Azaleas  have  been  neg¬ 
lected  to  a  large  extent  by  garden  mak¬ 
ers,  which  is  unfortunate.  There  are 
several  native  Azaleas  which  are  as  fine 
as  any  shrubs  that  can  be  grown.  In  ad¬ 
dition  there  are  some  good  introductions 
from  the  Far  East,  including  Azalea 
Kaempferi  and  Azalea  Schlippenbachii. 
The  latter  has  the  merit  of  blooming 
very  early  in  the  Spring.  Korea  has 
sent  us  a  good  Azalea  in  Poukhanense, 
named  for  the  mountains  of  Poukhan,  on 
which  it  was  discovered. 
Blueberries. — It  is  interesting  to  find 
that  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  So¬ 
ciety  is  offering  prizes  this  year  for  blue¬ 
berries  cultivated  in  New  England.  It 
seems  to  be  an  undisputed  fact  that  the 
blueberry  is  at  last  being  tamed.  It  is 
already  thriving  in  many  gardens.  Miss 
Marian  Roby  Case  of  Middlesex  Co., 
Mass.,  has  a  plantation  of  cultivated 
blueberries  and  sells  the  fruit.  The  blue¬ 
berry  can  be  grown  readily  enough  if  its 
rather  unusual  likings  are  respected.  If 
has  a  great  antipathy  to  lime,  and  rebels 
against  manure  of  all  kinds. 
Raspberries.  —  Particular  attention 
has  been  given  to  raspberries  of  late 
years,  in  an  endeavor  to  produce  im¬ 
proved  varieties.  Latham,  which  was 
farmerly  known  as  Minnesota  No.  4.  has 
already  proved  its  worth  in  the  East  as 
well  as  in  the  State  of  its  origin.  Lath¬ 
am  promises  to  be  a  good  commercial  ber¬ 
ry  as  well  as  a  variety  adapted  to  home 
gardens,  and  is.  remarkably  hardy. 
Three  new  raspberries  have  been  orig¬ 
inated  at  the  Experiment  Station  at 
Geneva,  N.  Y.,  and  promise  well.  They 
are  seedlings  from  a  cross  between  June 
and  Cuthbert.  They  are  known  as  the 
Cayuga,  the  Owasco  and  the  Seneca,  and 
have  been  tested  for  12  years.  The  one 
called  Owasco  is  being  recommended 
especially  for  home  gardens,  having  very 
large,  juicy  berries,  although  not  making 
quite  as  vigorous  -plants  as  the  other 
varieties.  Another  new  raspberry  which  is 
now  being  pushed  in  the  trade  is  called 
Syracuse,  and  seems  to  be  giving  a  good 
account  of  itself,  although  I  have  never 
grown  it.  La  France  seems  to  have  es¬ 
tablished  itself  as  a  first-class  raspberry 
in  sections  which  are  not  too  cold.  Once 
well  established,  it  grows  rapidly  and 
makes  many  suckers.  Its  chief  advan¬ 
tage  comes  in  its  Fall-bearing  habit. 
Erskine  Park  has  a  very  sprightly  flavor, 
but  the  plants  are  too  straggling  to  suit 
my  notions  of  an  orderly  garden.  This 
is  another  Fall-bearing  variety.  After 
all  has  been  said,  I  am  not  sure  that  St. 
Regis  is  yet  to  be  discarded.  One  man 
has  recently  come  to  the  vicinity  of  Bos¬ 
ton  from  New  Jersey  and  has  set  out 
five  acres  of  St.  Regis  raspberries,  having 
faith  that  this  will  prove  a  successful 
commercial  proposition. 
Vegetable  Novelties. — Worth-while 
novelties  among  the  vegetables  are  not. 
numerous.  I  am  able  to  say  that  the 
Burbank  tomato,  which  is  reasonably 
new,  actually  lives  up  to  the  descriptions 
given  it  in  the  catalogues.  It  is  early,  a 
heavy  bearer,  and  possesses  good  flavor, 
while  peeling  exceptionally  easy.  Bur¬ 
bank’s  introductions  have  been  discredit¬ 
ed  so  frequently  in  the  East  that  one 
likes  to  give  credit  when  possible.  His 
popcorn,  called  Sorghum  Pop,  is  cer¬ 
tainly  meritorious.  I  have  found  noth¬ 
ing  better,  and  it  will  grow  on  the  poor¬ 
est  land  one  can  find  on  the  farm.  An¬ 
other  new  tomato,  called  Beefheart.  is 
rather  interesting  because  of  its  peculiar 
form.  It  is  really  heart-shaped. 
I  think  I  was  about  the  first  person  in 
the  East  to  grow  the  little  squash  called 
Table  Queen,  but  now  several  seedsmen 
are  cataloguing  it,  although  often  under 
the  name  of  Des  Moines.  Des  Moines 
and  Table  Queen  are  the  same  thing.  It 
is  not  a  remarkable  squash,  but  is  good 
for  baking,  and  one  squash  will  make 
two  individual  servings  when  cut  open. 
A  new  pole  bean  which  has  been  bor¬ 
rowed  from  the  Italian  gardeners  around 
Boston,  and  who  probably  introduced  it 
from  Italy,  is  being  received  with  much 
satisfaction.  It  is  a  pole  string  bean, 
slightly  streaked  with  purple,  and  giving 
a  big  crop  over  an  unusually  long  season. 
Moreover,  it  is  entirely  stringless.  It 
simply  goes  under  the  name  of  the  Italian 
string  bean.  E.  I.  FARRINGTON. 
The  Japanese  Bellflower,  a  Desirable  Shrub 
The  BEST  is  the  CHEAPEST! 
This  Always  Was  and  Always  Will  be  True 
USE  THE  MAPES 
FAMOUS  FERTILIZERS 
The  Standard  for  Half  a  Century 
BASIS-BONE  AND  GUANO 
Availability  Without  Acidity 
Choicest  and  Most  Varied  Forms  of  Plant  Food 
We  are  pleased  to  announce  that  during  the  Fall  and  early  Winter  we  have  received  two  cargoes  of 
the  highest  grade  Peruvian  Guano,  and  that  ample  stocks  are  assured  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
Send  for  Price  List  and  Descriptive  Circular 
THE  MAPES  FORMULA  &  PERUVIAN  GUANO  CO. 
Hartford  Branch :  239  State  Street,  Hartford,  Conn. 
143  Liberty  Street,  New  York  City,  N.  Y. 
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