1895. 



• • • GARDENING. 



27 



common bittersweet (Solamnn Dul- 

 camara), a climbing plant with rather 

 show3' potato-like purple flowers and 

 showy scarlet berries, is another danger- 

 ous member of this family, but its fruit is 

 not so virulently poisonous as that of the 

 black berried nightshade referred to 

 above. 



Cacti. 



CflCTl: «0W TO GROW THEM. 



Some cacti as epiphyllum, phyllocactus 

 and some cereus are remarkable for the 

 beauty of their flowers, others are noted 

 for their odd and attractive spicy bodies. 

 While most cacti are natives of warm 

 climes, we have some in Dakota, Mon- 

 tana, Minnesota and even in Wisconsin. 

 These must endure more than 40° below 

 zero at times, but generally they are in 

 well drained situations and get thor- 

 oughly ripened before hard frost sets in. It 

 is a mi? taken idea that cacti must be 

 always kept dry to do well, this state 

 during their restingperiod isall right, but 

 like the camel they must have water 

 sometimes. In their native habitat some 

 survive without rain for a j-ear or two, 

 then a rainy season comes on and they 

 are soaked into life and commence to 

 bloom at once, then to grow^ and produce 

 their fruits or seed. 



Some cacti grow on open prairie like 

 any wild plant, and in their season the 

 ground is carpeted with the bright flow- 

 ers o( Echinocactus Texensis, E. Simpsoni, 

 Mammillariaapplanata, etc. Others may 

 grow in rocks without anyapparent soil, 

 but if you trace the one root down for 

 several feet you may find it enlarges into 

 a tuft of roots in fine, rich soil. The 

 bulky cacti do betterif their bodies donot 

 rest on moist soil, sand should be placed 

 under the plant 



When cacti from native coHectors direct 

 are received their roots are mangled and 

 broken, now these should be cut off close 

 to the plant with a sharp knife. If the 

 plants are then placed on clean sand and 

 only moistened occasionally they will 

 make lots of fine roots which will soon 

 "boom" the plants. 



My best success with fresh cacti received 

 in summer was as follows: I had a com- 

 mon frame with sash hinged and raised 

 at all times except in damp or cool 

 weather. On the hard dirt bottom six 

 inchesof sand were placed, .\fter theroots 

 were all cut off the plants were placed on 

 the surface of the sand and showered oc- 

 casionally, so that the surtace of sand 

 was dry soon after, but the bottom was 

 rather moist. In two months they made 

 masses of roots equal to the size of the 

 plants, in fact roots asgoodasyou would 

 want on a strawberry plant, these could 

 be lifted with sand attached and potted 

 in rich soil. To illustrate take a small 

 fresh plant, say of the echinocactus family 

 and suspend it an inch over a glass of 

 water — watch the result. 



In a bed as described, three feet square 

 planted close with Echinocactus ctespi- 

 tosus I had from 15 to 25 flowers open 

 every day for over six weeks, hundreds of 

 beautiful pink and magenta blossoms 

 three inches across and sweet scented, 

 open to the glare of the sun for days. E. 

 Simpsoni produces its rosy flowers as 

 profusely, as many as eight being on a 

 plant the size of a hen's egg. 



Amateurs should not be discouraged! 

 Investigation may perhaps show that too 

 much water at times and not enough at 

 others may be the cause of failure but in 



most cases it is poor drainage. To the 

 beginner I would say, put a + inch board 

 on a pair often cent brackets in a south 

 facing window and set thereon twelve 

 saucers, then twelve small pots in them 

 and a jjlant in each pot. For soil I take 

 one-half sharp sand and the balance of 

 rich loam with some lime or old plaster, 

 fill the pots one-third with charcoal lor 

 drainage. Let the plant rest immediately 

 on sand or small pebbles and water once, 

 no more until growth begins. 



Cuttings should be placed in the sun for 

 three or four davs before planting them 

 kept about drv until rooted. They root 

 best in clear sand. The safest rule is to 

 err on the side of dryness. 



Milton, Wis. ' Curt K. Plumb. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



TAB VBGETflBLE GARDEN. 



The celery must have good attention 

 now. Give' it abundance of water if 

 necessary. White Plume and Golden 

 Self-blanching should be earthed up full, 

 or, better still, boarded up on each side 

 and earth banked against the boards. 

 By the first of October it is time all celery 

 was handled, that is, the earth drawn in 

 about the crowns and firmed there with 

 the hands so as to compact the leaves 

 together. But we wouldn't earth up the 

 celery full that we intended for la'e 

 winter use before the middle of the month. 

 Thin the kale sowed last month to two 

 or three inches apart in the rows. 



Keep the ground stirred among the 

 young spinach to prevent, as far possible, 

 anv o the seedlings damping off". 



Get the cold frames filled with young 

 lettuce plants. Exposing them to much 

 cold, notwithstanding the fact that they 

 will stand several degrees of frost with 

 apparent impunity, does them no good, 

 in fact it toughens them. 



Be prepared to cover tomato plants in 

 full bearing with some temporary protec- 

 tion against frost, a movable cold frame 

 set over them is an excellent way of 

 saving them. The same with snap beans. 

 Indeed by placing a makeshift cold frame 

 over three or four parallel rows sown 

 a-purpose and banking against them with 

 earth, and covering them with sashes, 

 and these, in case of frost, with straw, 

 hav or mats, we can have nice beans into 

 November. 



Keep the ground hoed among the 

 young beets, carrots and turnips to keep 

 them growing, tence tender and juicy. 

 About the end of the month or first of 

 November is time enough to pull them 

 for storing in winter. 



If you haven't any parsley growing 

 especially for winter use, lift some roots 

 and plant them in a box and keep as 

 warm as practicable to encourage growth 

 before consigning it to the cellar. 



])ut on and left for a few days in this 

 state until the first great heat is over. 

 The seeds are planted about April 1, in 

 5-inch pots, five seeds in each, and pots 

 placed in hotbed frame as close together as 

 possible. The temperature of the hotbed 

 is kept at about 80°. 



"Karly in May trenches are dug, fifteen 

 inches deep, filled with hot manure, cov- 

 ered with earth eight to ten inches, and 

 at the distance of every four feet the mel- 

 ons are transplanted, putting one pot 

 containing three or four stout plants in 

 each hill, of course turning them out of 

 the pots. They are again covered with 

 glass and given plenty of air during the 

 day and covered at night. 



■'When the plants make a growth of 

 three leaves nip off the top. so they can 

 send out shoots for fruit. This is of great 

 importance. About July 1, when vines 

 have grown enough to fill the frames and 

 melons are formed the size of your fist, 

 remove the frames gradually. Shingles 

 are placed under the melons, which greatly 

 add to the appearance of the fruit when 

 ripe. The largest melon I ever saw 

 weighed twenty-eight pounds, although 

 thirty-five to thirty-eight pounds is not 

 at all unusual." 



RAISING MUSK MELONS. 



At the Henrv- Shaw banquet to nur- 

 serymen, florists and market gardeners, 

 given in St. Louis on the 14-th of Septem- 

 ber, Mr. D. I. Bushnell in speaking of the 

 celebrated Montreal musk melons said: 



"Great care is used in the selection of 

 seed. The melon earliest to ripen, best 

 shape, etc., is left to ripen thoroughly for 

 this purpose. The hotbed is made by 

 first spreading hot manure fifteen inches 

 deep upon the ground, then laying the 

 frame thereon, banking outside with 

 manure and filling the inside of frame 

 with five inchesof dirt. The glass is then 



Cabbage worm, to destroy it.— Get 

 some fine salt, dry it perfectly dry on the 

 stove or in the oven, then take it out with 

 vou into the garden. In the evening when 

 the dew is on the plants take a small 

 pinch of this dry powdered salt and dust 

 it on each head; the dew will dissolve it 

 and a slight rain will carry it in among the 

 leaves of the cabbage or cauliflower, and 

 it kills every caterpillar it touches and 

 doesn't hurt the plants any. Do this 

 about once a week. It is quick, simple, 

 and effectual. 



Mushrooms. 



MUSHROOMS. 



N. L. G., Nottingham, N. H., writes: 

 "Some time ago I purchased your book 

 on mushrooms, and once I raised some 

 good mushrooms, but have not been able 

 to do it since. I have tried several times 

 but failed. I think the trouble must be 

 with the spawn, as I have followed 

 strictly your instructions. I have also in 

 my possession instructions on growing 

 mushrooms given bv a French gardener, 

 in which he advises to examine the spawn 

 after it has been in the bed seven or eight 

 days, and before the bed is cased over, 

 and to remove such spawn as does not 

 thrive. Now, as I find nothing in your 

 book like the above, I write to inquire if 

 it would not be a good plan to delay 

 casing the bed till the spawn begins to 

 thrive, and thus save all uncertainty 

 about the spawn beinggood or worthless 

 and much time in waiting for the bed to 

 produce mushrooms when spawned with 

 worthless spawn? Also will all good 

 spawn show activity or begin to thrive in 

 seven or eight days after being placed in the 

 bed? And if so, why could not spawn be 

 tested before using it extensively by 

 making a small bed and waiting a short 

 time for it thrive?" 



With good spawn, good materials and 

 a good place there is no reason why you 

 or any one cannot grow mushrooms. No, 

 the spawn isn't always good, and even 

 experts may fail in knowing whether it is 

 good or bad. Our book is written from 

 actual practice, and is absolutely void of 

 stereotyped twaddle. The French gard- 

 ener's plan, or a modification of it, is 



