25o 



GARDENING. 



May i^ 



Thetis.— Tawny yellow; smaller 

 flower, but distinct. 



Ne Plus Ultra.— tiniform crimson 

 scarlet, one of the brightest in color; 

 large trusses and long tubular flowers 

 fully two inches across; superb! 



1 have omitted the double-flowered 

 varieties, though some of them are fine, 

 yet to my mind they do not approach 

 the single varieties in beauty. Several of 

 the newer varieties have been obtained 

 by hybridizing Javanicum-Jaswinifforum 

 varieties with R. multicolor, a species in- 

 troduced from Sumatra, the treatment 

 of which is the same as for those enumer- 

 ated above. The plants have small and 

 narrow leaves and somewhat smaller but 

 beautiful flowers. Among them are: 



Mrs. Heal, with flowers about two 

 inches in diameter and pure white; the 

 tube is short open and spreading. 



RuBV is a free flowering kind with deep 

 coral red flowers and a rich and shining 

 compact truss. 



The above are the only two varieties 

 which I have yet proved, but am satisfied 

 that they will become permanent addi- 

 tions to greenhouse decoration. 



William Koiunson. 



North Easton, Mass. 



SUMMER TREATMENT OF CflLLfl LILIES. 



When the plants are not needed for 

 flowering, which will be towards the last 

 of May, turn the pots on their sides on 

 the bench where they stood, the glass be- 

 ing shaded. They should receive no more 

 water. Let them dry as much as they 

 will, it will not hurt them. By the mid- 

 dle of August theie will be a pot filled 

 with earth baked dust dry, with a calla 

 root well ripened. Break away the earth 

 carefully without injuring the calla. 

 Clean off" all the young offsets it may 

 have made and repot firmly in a good, 

 rich soil. Set the pots out of doors on a 

 bed of ashes, to keep out the worms, and 

 cover them with a little hay or other 

 mulching. Water sparingly and only 

 when dry, which will not be often, until 

 they start to grow. They will come 

 through the hay all right. Let them remain 

 there until time to bring them in; about 

 the middle of September. They will be- 

 gin to bloom at once and witli proper 

 care will keep it up until May again. In 

 potting use a handful of coarse rotten 

 manure or drainage in preference to the 

 usual "crock." It will answer the pur- 

 pose just as well and the plant will pre- 

 fer it. The offsets may be planted thickly 

 in a flat and grown on. P. F. 



The Fruit Garden. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



CarefuUj' examine the beds to see that 

 they are clean and the surface soil loose, 

 then mulch them. The mulching may 

 consist of any strawy orlittery stuff that 

 can be drawn up snug against the crowns 

 of the plants, cover the space between 

 them and save the fruit from getting 

 gritty from lying on the ground or being 

 spattered with dirt from rain storms. 

 Tree leaves are of little good, as they are 

 so easily blown away. Strawy manure 

 is good, and therains will wash it clean on 

 the top before the berries are ripe. The 

 mulching also conserves the moisture in the 

 soil and in this way adds to the sustenance 

 and perfection of the fruit. Many berry 

 growers mulch their strawberry beds 

 heavily in winter and leave the mulching 

 undisturbed till the plants start to grow 



in spring, when they draw it aside from 

 off" the tops of the plants to around them 

 and the space between them, leaving it 

 there as a summer mulching, and an ex- 

 cellent plan it is. What's the use of 

 mulching the beds so early in the season 

 when the berries won't be ripe for a 

 month yet?isaquestion that may occur to 

 many. We can apply the mulching now 

 easily and effectively and without any 

 hindrance from large growing foliage or 

 bunches of flowers, but delaying it longer 

 renders the work more difficult to do and 

 we cannot make such a nice job of it, 

 besides we are apt to destroy a good 

 many of the flowers. Fill up any gaps in 

 the beds or rows irom surplus beds. This 

 is also a good time to plant new beds. 

 Plants set out now may not bear any 

 fruit this summer, but they will make 

 early and good runners and become a fine 

 bed next summer. 



THE FRUIT OflRDEN. 



The first growth of a plant should be 

 its best. Keep the ground moist and 

 mellow by frequent cultivation. This 

 work warms the soil, starts the plants 

 early, makes plant food more available 

 and lessens the liabiHty of injury by frost, 

 drouth or insect pests. Frequent cultiva- 

 tion conserves moisture, holds it near the 

 surface, where it isof most valueto plants 

 and allows moisture from light showers 

 and dews, to penetrate more deeply. 

 Weeds are robbers of all the best elements 

 of plant life and should not be tolerated 

 in the garden. Potatoes, or other vege- 

 tables may be grown between bush ber- 

 ries the first season, but never any crop 

 to shade the ground. Stimulate rapid 

 growth by liberal top dressings of the 

 fine manure and wood ashes. 



Success in the garden depends much on 

 good care in the beginning. Have no 

 missing hills. If plants have failed to 

 grow set new ones in their places at once. 



To secure large nice fruit, severe prun- 

 ing is necessary. New growth on both 

 old and new currants and gooseberries 

 should be cut back and old wood in cen- 

 ter of bush removed. Laterals on black 

 raspberries cut back one third or one- 

 half. Remove all weak canes and broken 

 branches. The ideal bush should be round 

 or oval in form, stocky, and pruned to 

 admit free circulation of air. Currants 

 are often injured by the borer. The egg 

 is deposited about June 1, and as 

 soon as hatched, the young borer 

 eats its way into the pith, and feeds on 

 on the life of the plant. As soon as the 

 leaves start, the affected canes, which 

 now have a black center, are easily dis- 

 covered by their sickly appearance and 

 should be cut out and burned at once. 



Sparta, Wis. M. A. Thayer. 



RASPBERRIES. 



B3' this time raspberry bushes should 

 be tied up, pruned, cultivated and 

 mulched. If this work has been neglected, 

 however, get it done as soon as possible. 

 All weak, strawy canes should be cut out 

 of the stools and no more stout canes 

 left, say five or six, than will have plenty 

 room to grow and properly mature their 

 branches and bunches of flowers and ber- 

 ries. Probably the tips of the canes got 

 cut back more or less by frost. In this 

 case cut them back to good sound eyes. 

 Mulch the ground vi'ith any strawy or 

 littery stuff to keep the fruit clean from 

 grit spattered on to it in rainy weather. 

 Prune in the black caps a little and sup- 

 port them between lath or wire rails, so 

 that the berry-laden branchlets may lean 



over them. Dewberry vines are also 

 much better for having some support to 

 keep them off the ground and free from 

 grit; a mulching of strawj' litter under 

 them and an arch of wire netting for 

 them to clamber over usually furnish this; 

 a strip of netting four to "six feet wide 

 and bent like an inverted V and fastened 

 in place with stakes, we have found to be 

 very convenient and serviceable. 



CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY BUSflES. 



These are now pretty well advanced in 

 leaf, and some of them in bloom. Prunmg 

 should have been attended to before now, 

 but if there are any old gnarly branches 

 that should be removed don't hesitate to 

 do it now, for the good estate of a berry 

 bush is young wood. A mulching under 

 the bushes will save the fruit from grit. 

 But the most important thing to attend 

 to now is the currant worm; get some 

 fresh hellebore powder, and no matter 

 whether there are any caterpillars on the 

 bushes or not, dust the foliage all over 

 with some of this powder. Ilse an ordinary 

 powder bellows and apply the dusting 

 early in the morning, say while the dew 

 is still on the foliage; the dew catches 

 and holds the powder. In a week or ten 

 days from now repeat the application, 

 and whenever there is a sign of a cater- 

 pillar on any of the bushes run for your 

 powder bellows and give the pest a dust- 

 ing. 



BLACKBERRIPS. 



Cut out every bit of dead wood in the 

 plantation and clear it away. If the 

 canes have grown so long and strong 

 and branchy as to become a thicket or 

 unmanageable, shorten in the branchlets 

 and cut back the canes a piece, then tie 

 the canes up to stakes, or arch those of 

 two stools together for support, or brace 

 them up between rails of lath or wire. 

 As blackberry bushes are far more vigor- 

 ous than are raspberry ones we prefer 

 letting them carry longer canes than the 

 latter do. If you have got any of the 

 yellow rust in yourbed it will show now; 

 there is no cure for it, root out and burn 

 every yellow-leaved sprout as soon as it 

 shows itself above the ground. In some 

 localities it is very prevalent among both 

 the garden and wild blackberries, but 

 only in spring and early summer. Suckers 

 are apt to spring up all about the old 

 plantation; root out every one you don't 

 need now or care to save for setting out 

 in a new plantation next fall. 



t)LD-TiME Varieties of Strawberries. 

 —J. A. F., Milton, Mass., writes: "Can 

 you tell me where, if anywhere, the fol- 

 lowing old-time varieties of strawberry 

 plants are still to be obtained: Bush 

 alpine white and red; Burr's new pine; 

 and President Wilder? I have just noticed 

 in the last number of Gardening another 

 inquiry for bush alpines. The questioner 

 is referred to Ellwanger & Barry, but 1 

 have already applied to them without 

 success." 



Ans. We do not know. If any of our 

 readers know, will they kindly give us 

 the desired information? The Wilderused 

 to be grown a good deal about Boston, 

 and was long famous for its fine flavor. 

 If you addressed a letter of inquiry to the 

 chairman of the fruit committee' of the 

 Mass. Hort. Society, Boston, he would 

 bring the matter up before his cnmmittee, 

 and some cf them would be sure to know 

 something about the varieties and who 

 has them. And then please let us know, 

 that others luav also be benefited. 



