330 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



\y> uriiiil er. 



culture. We spoil our good sorts by bad treat- 

 ment, and then look for the remedy in new 

 varieties. We believe we cannot offer our read- 

 ers at this time any more profitable " Season- 

 able Hints " than to look up and jjondor wiial 

 has been oft'ered from time to time in our p:i<,'es. 

 on common sense fruit rulture. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



SUMMER SHADE FOR APPLE TREES. 



BY MK. F. AV. WOODWARD, EAU CLAIRE, WIS. 



Numerous have been the articles written in our 

 horticultural journals upon the advantages or 

 necessity of shade from the Winter sun, or 

 protection to the trunks and larger limbs of fruit 

 trees in cold northern latitudes. This protec- 

 tion has been largely given in this State, still 

 the trees die, often by. wholesale, and with the 

 surviving it is only a question of time. Out of 

 fifty varieties planted in my own grounds, but 

 three trees survive, these are the Wallnudge, 

 Alter and Plumb's Cider. The two last are 

 weak and diseased, but the Walbridge is in per- 

 fect health ; has not shown a sign of failure 

 dm-ing seven years, though a tree of the same 

 variety within ten feet of it succumbed long 

 since. My attention has often been called to 

 the vigorous tree and to the solution of the 

 question of its healthy growth. In coversation 

 with a friend lately, about my failure with the 

 Apple, he said, plant some hardy tree, a Trans- 

 cendant Crab, for instance, on the south side of 

 your apple trees and near enough to shade them 

 from the Summer sun, and watch the result. 

 He mentioned a case where a neighbor had 

 planted alternate rows of Apple and Crab trees 

 so near that the Crabs shaded the others, and 

 they had not been injured by a cold of 40" be- 

 low zero. Here then was the secret of my suc- 

 cess. My tree had never had Winter protection, 

 but on the south side of it within a few feet 

 stood a large Crab tree that shaded the Apple 

 during the hottest hours of the day in Summer. 

 The conclusion to be drawn from these facts 

 would indicate that Summer shade should be 

 given, either by planting evergreens in our 

 orchards, as advocated by Mr. Elliott, or by al- 

 ternate rows of trees of unquestioned hardiness, 

 near enough to shade those of a more tender 

 constitution. 



THE TRUE CUMBO. 



BY MISS M. MIMKOUI), WASHINGTON, D .C. 



The American AijricuUurixi is right, (Jumbo is 

 the name of the dish, or rather soup, made of 

 Okra. Tlu! compound of which soup is also 

 called Gumbo, is made from Sassafras leaves 

 dried and made into a powder called Gumbo 

 fili. Not quite certain about the spelling of the 

 latter, pronounced as spelt fele. 



FAST BUDDING. 



BY C. J. BLACK, IIKJHT.STOW'N, N. J. 



Very few who arc unacquainted with tbe 

 art of budding will believe how rapidly it 

 can be performed by experts. Some twenty 

 years ago when I first commenced the nursery 

 business it was thought that a man who budded 

 2000 Peach trees in a day was very expert, and 

 if he did more than that many, he must slight 

 his work. The number has been gradually 

 increased, until now we can find occasionally 

 a man who can bud TjOOO trees in a day of ten 

 hours. The largest amount I have ever heard 

 of was done by our men the past season. My 

 brother and two young men in our employ, with 

 three tiers, six in all, budded and tied 40,800 

 Peach trees in three days of ten hours each. I 

 have occasionally heard of a large number set 

 in one day, but tl\is is the largest number I have 

 ever known budded in the time. If any one knows 

 of better Avork than this, please report. 



ASPARAGUS CULTURE IN ENGLAND. 



BY MK. AVM. ROBINSON, EDITOR OF "GARDEN," 

 LONDON, ENG. 



Referring to a paragraph in a recent Monthly, 

 allow me to say that as yet there has been no 

 competition for my prize in England, nor will 

 there be for some time, to allow full time for 

 prepai'ation. The Asparagus you allude to was 

 merely a head obtained after a few years' trial 

 of the open planting system where previously 

 no good Asparagus was obtainable. As my 

 prize will run over seven consecutive years, I 

 hope that at some of the competitions we may 

 have the pleasure of seeing samples of the best 

 American grown Asparagus. I was not in 

 America during the Asparagus season, and 

 therefore I can only speak from seeing some 

 preserved American Aspai'agus. It seemed all 

 that was most desirable in size and quality. 



