iSgs. 



GARDENING. 



347 



when it is in bloom its arching heads 

 bending with their load of white, fleecy, 

 fragrant flowers arc a delight to his 

 family and passers by, and heaven for the 

 honey bees. 



Ake Sweet Peas Degeneratinc. -There 

 has been a good deal of cry lately about 

 the cheapness of sweet pea seed, and the 

 ill effects the low prices are apt to have 

 upon the (|uality of the seed by causing 

 the growers to be less particular in weed- 

 ing out "rogues" and poor varieties, their 

 object being to produce the greatest 

 (pinntity of seed at the least possible trou- 

 ble and expense. In flat contradiction of 

 this reasonable theory, amongoverthirty 

 varieties of sweet peas now in Ijloom at 

 Dosoris thecleanestsortsare the common 

 ones we bought in one-quarter and one- 

 half quantities, and the plants of them are 

 as vigorous and theirflowers as perfect as 

 (ifkinds we received as beingextra selected. 

 These facts before our eyes are testimony 

 enough that there is "too much crv of 

 "wolf." 



A " voi!NO man's" MO.NiMENT.-.\ "young 

 man" of Indiana "not believing in monu- 

 ments of stone and desiring to leave a 

 testimonial of regard for the people ' * 

 as well as something to perpetuate our 

 name" has "purchased a small tract of 

 land," and given it "to the town of-- — , 

 liis birthplace, as a monument to him- 

 self." It is to be known as his own full 

 name park, and "be used for the pleasure 

 of all." E erybody is invited to plant a 

 tree in this park as a monument to him- 

 self, as "the different lodges and societies 

 have been invited to plant trees and 

 ladies are invited to plant rose bushes" 

 in it. And the editor of this journal is 

 asked; "If we send you a half-tone etch- 

 ing of (the philanthropist him- 

 self, also giving his business) and a photo 



of park, could you use them with 



a short sketch of theparkinpAKDENiNO?" 



Xo, no, lor mercy's sake don't. Gar- 

 dening isn't the gullible paper you seem 

 to us to think it is. 



Transplanting Evergreens.— If you 

 wish to transplant evergreens such as 

 rhododendrons, kalmias, arbor vit.es, 

 retinosporas, yews, and the like from one 

 part of your grounds to another you can 

 do so from now on, if carefully attended 

 too, with perfect safety. But should the 

 weather be hot or parching dry, or the 

 ground very dry, we should defer the 

 moving till" alte"r the first good rain. 

 Transplanted so early as this they make 

 fresh roots readily and take firm hold in 

 the ground before winter. One of the 

 greatest safeguards in preserving the lives 

 of newly planted evergreens is to take a 

 can of "water and through a fine rose 

 sprinkle the plants overhead two or three 

 times a day for a fortnight. If firmly 

 planted, and moistened at the root and 

 then mulched and then sprinkled overhead 

 as advised, most every tree is sure to 

 live. If you get the evergreens from the 

 nurseries be sure to dip the roots in a 

 puddle of mud or clay and water before 

 planting the trees. Never allow the roots 

 of an evergreen to be exposed to sunshine, 

 wind, or other drying influence. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



BOTTOM «EflT-flSFflRflOUS BfBTLES. 



1. A. D. M., Massachusetts, asks: 

 'What low growing cool greenhouse 

 )lants and vegetables like bottom heat?" 



.l/js. We do not recall any cool green- 



house ornamental plant that needs bot- 

 tom heat. But many soft wooded plants 

 and young ferns recently repotted an<l 

 when starting into growth would grc itly 

 enjoy a bottom heat of 65° or 70° with a 

 top or house temperature of 50" to 55' 

 at night. Hybrid amaryllis love such 

 conditions, "in the way of vegetables 

 most everything that is forced likes 

 warmth at' the root, for instance aspar- 

 agus, rhubarb, sea kale, chicory; even 

 lettuces, radishes, spinach and mustard 

 don't object to it providing the air is 

 kept at 50° or 55°. 

 2. "Asparagas beetle, to fight il.-' " 

 Ans. We hand-pick them, that is rub 

 them off between the fingers, s<iucczing 

 them at same time. A few minutes' work 

 a week will keep them in good check. 

 They have been quite numerous here this 

 seas'on. As we cut off" every spear of 

 "grass" up till the end of June there is 

 nothing for them to eat here before that 

 time. But as soon as we stopped cut- 

 ting the beetles got here and in a few 

 days the larvje were defoliating the 

 plants. We have tried kerosene emulsion, 

 Paris green in water— potato strength, 

 slug-shot, buhach powder in powder and 

 in water, and fresh airslacked limedusted 

 on in a dewy morning, but are not yet 

 fiuite satisfied with results. 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 



Consult the notes printed in the last 

 issue of Gardening. Most of them are 

 still applicable. Purslane, ragweed, pig- 

 weed, wild orach, crab grass, and other 

 weeds, will, if permitted, soon take pos- 

 session of the land, and choke or spindle 

 your crop, but so long as yon can run a 

 "hand or horse cultivator between the 

 rows, keep the land tree of weeds and the 

 land mellow. 



Just as soon as the early beans or early 

 com has bt en gathered root it out, dig 

 or rake the ground, and sow it again, 

 say to beets, turnips, early peas, or late 

 beans; or plant it with late cauliflower, 

 spinach or lettuces. Now is the time to 

 sow peas again. I'se the early round 

 ones, as First of All, etc.: maiTOW peas 

 don't pod well in fall Get the celery 

 planted as soon as possible, and by keep- 

 ing it cleaned and well cultivated and 

 watered when necessary encourage it to 

 grow as much as possible. 



T«E PEAS DON'T DEVELOP. 



A. R. C, Orange, N. J., asks: "Why 

 don't my peas develop? The plants are 

 healthy and the pots large, but the peas 

 don't develop." 



We get excellent peas up till the middle 

 of July, and in a moist season, as this has 

 been during the first half of July, we have 

 good peas till the 24th or 25th of that 

 month; after that, however, we find it 

 impossible to get good peas, the peas 

 won't develop. Heat and drouth arc 

 against them. Butup in Vermont and in 

 cool mountainous districts good peas can 

 be grown allsummer. If your peas failed 

 to develop in June or early July then 

 there is something amiss; but if the 

 trouble has appeared in or since the 

 second week of July, it is natural and 

 there is no help for it. Mildew also 

 attacks the peas in July, destroying straw 

 and peas in the pods as well, and there is 

 no help. Between this halt in the pea 

 crop and the first pole Lima beans there 

 is a gap of about three weeks which we 

 fill with Henderson's bush Lima beans. 



of going into the truck garden and small 

 fruit business. Please tell me what is the 

 best toil lor celery, onions an<i cabbage, 

 also for strawberries, blackberries and 

 raspberries." Any good, moderately evel 

 land will do. Don't take poor, thin, dry 

 or hilly ground at any price. I'oth onions 

 and celery like moist, deep, rich soil; good 

 farm land will grow cabbage and so it 

 will any of the berry crops. Be careful to 

 get land where water can be had easily; 

 but don't get into a swamp or have any- 

 thing to do with ground that cannot be 

 drained easily. We get our biggest and 

 finest looking strawberries in rich moist 

 land such as onions and celery love, but 

 while good for home use they are too soft 

 to ship. 



Mushrooms. 



FAILED WITfl MUSfl ROOMS. 



A. B. O., writes: "I have had two 

 failures trying to grow mushrooms. I 

 think it must be the temperature of my 

 cellar, and yet it seems just the place for 

 the purpose. It does freeze in one corner 

 of it, but only in intensely cold weather. 

 But temperature ranges usually after 

 November 1. between 35° and 45' and 

 never over 50°. Is this too low? I have 

 the the furnace cellar but that is very dry 

 and dusty. Do you think any use trying 

 again?" 



Yes, try again Mushroom beds should 

 have a surface temperature of 55° to 60°, 

 and the heat of the interior of the bed 

 should be 5° to 10° more than that. 

 Without protecting your beds your cellar 

 is too cold in winter, but you can protect 

 your beds by a heavy coating of straw or 

 hay against any cold that may enter 

 your cellar; the warmth of the manure 

 "within the beds will keep u • the tempera- 

 ture at the surface under the covering. In 

 the London market gardens, where the 

 mushrooms are grown out of doors all 

 winter in the face of frost and snow and 

 rain and sleet, the ridge-beds are covered 

 against the weather with strawy litter, 

 Russia bass mats and boards, and im- 

 mense quantities of mushrooms are grown 

 there in that way. It is much easier to 

 grow them in your cellar. Or, it will 

 make gathering the crop easier, if you 

 box up the beds, and put the strawy 

 covering over the boxing. Get the book 

 •'Mushrooms: How to grow them" price 

 $1 50, from the publisher of Gardening, 

 it explains all about this way of growing 

 mushrooms in detail, and the matter is 

 illustrated. 



Mushroom Spawn —W. C. D., Union 

 street. New Bedford, Mass., asks: "Would 

 you kindly recommend a seedsman to me 

 "of whom" I can get good spawn. Also 

 the quantity I would need for 360 square 

 feet." Every seedsman advertising in 

 Gardening sells mushroom spawn im- 

 ported from England. Get 75 or 100 

 pounds. 



Ti(i:cK Garde: 

 ,., Ucloit, Wis., - 



SOIL FOR — C. N. 

 "I am thinking 



T«E USE OF COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS. 



A natural desire for the use of common 

 names for plants is inherent in us all. 

 Perhaps in no countrj' are they more 

 used than in England. There the people 

 cultivate flowers more freely than else- 

 where, and from them have sprung many 

 of the names attached to their household 

 l)ets. Thecompararivelv limited aiea of 



