82 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[March, 



plants were untouched by the pest that year. So j 

 by taking time by the forelock, I learned that " pre- 

 vention is better than cure." The worms come in 

 August ; apply the cures early in that month. Last | 

 year I syringed with carbolic soap, with Paris 

 green in it. All the worms were killed, and no 

 second brood followed. [Dangerous. — Ed. G. M.] 

 There is another worm which feeds upon the 

 leaves of the quince, and still another, found upon 

 the hop vine, both of which can be stopped from 

 coming by syringing the leaves with the aforesaid 

 mixture. 



VEGETABLES. 



BY ISA.\C HICKS, OLD WESTBURY, L. I., N. Y. 



I want no more of the Acme tomato ; they 

 rot badly. Tielden and Trophy are good for all 

 seasons. I have a nice lot of the Perfect Gem 

 squash. They are small but prolific and the best 

 I have had, keeping good thus far. 



For the first crop of peas I wait for the little 

 Gem. They are so much better that one can afford 

 to wait for them. At the same time plant Alpha 

 and Champion. After these are up nicely, plant 

 another row of Champions for later. Our most 

 successful asparagus raisers for market plant 

 much wider apart than formerly. To obtain the 

 superior Oyster Bay asparagus, 2>% to 4 feet be- 

 tween the rows, and 16 or more apart on the rows. 

 Then throw on the manure liberally and the 

 growth will be true Colossal, equal to Conover's. 

 What do we hear about the Japan Chestnut? 

 Who has them to bear ? Are they hardy ? The 

 tips of those we have were killed last winter, and a 

 very mild one, too. Further south probably they 

 will succeed finely and if all that is claimed is true, 

 they will be an acquisition indeed, even more so 

 than the persimmon. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Culture of Fruit Trees. — The Country Gen- 

 tleman advises to try good and poor cultivation on 

 alternate trees in long rows, so as to make a satis- 

 factory test as to the best methods of treatment. 

 Would it not be better to decide first what is good 

 and poor cultivation ? In an essay on the "Culti- 

 vation of Orchards," now before us, the author 

 says : " I would recommend every one to prune 

 whenever he finds his knife sharp," and still 

 another, who says : " I would not on any account 

 prune an orchard tree. The necessity for knife 

 pruning is in itself an evidence of bad culture." 



Farming in New England. — Mr. J. W. Chee- 

 ver — excellent authority — in a report to the State 

 Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts, says: 

 "What New England soil most needs is men who 

 have faith to cultivate it ; and there is plenty of 

 evidence that such men are becoming more nu- 

 merous, and that the number will increase, as ag- 

 ricultural knowledge increases, until New England 

 shall be noted, not only for being the birthplace of 

 great and good men, but also the home of those 

 whose love is too strong to forsake her." 



The Japan Persimmon. — Last fall Mr. Nelson, 

 gardener to Mrs. Chandler, in Germantown, Phil- 

 adelphia, fruited and exhibited before the Ger- 

 mantown Horticultural Society noble specimens of 

 the Japan Persimmon. They were like small 

 oranges rather than specimens of the ordinary na- 

 tive fruit. This plant was a small one, left behind 

 by the Japanese after the Centennial International 

 Exhibition in 1876, and planted in Mrs. Chandler's 

 garden, which is much sheltered, as most city lots 

 are. During the winter of 1 880-8 r it froze to the 

 ground, but sprouted up strongly from the roots 

 the next summer. During the winter of 188J-82 

 it was protected by boards on two sides, the boards 

 facing northeast and northwest. It went through 

 the comparativ.ely mild winter without injury, and 

 this summer made a bush of about six feet high, 

 and was loaded with fruit. Mr. Nelson says there 

 was much difference in the size of the fruit on the 

 bush. Some were no larger than marbles, though 

 many were of the huge size as those exhibited. 



The Advantage of Bringing Peaches 

 Early to Market. — During an address to the 

 North Texas Horticultural Society, Mr. H. Tone 

 said that " the man who brings the first peaches to 

 market sells them readily for $4. The next day 

 he comes with five bushels and grumbles because 

 he is obliged to sell them at $2.50. On the third 

 day he comes with twenty-five bushels, and finds 

 his neighbors in with as many more, and every 

 man of them considers it downright robbery when 

 he is offered the standard price of a dollar and a 

 half, when the fact is that peaches, even at fifty 

 cents a bushel, make double the profit of any crop 

 of cotton, corn or wheat that can be raised." 



Red-Leaved Endive. — A red leaved endive is 

 announced by the Italian seed merchants. As the 

 common endive, besides its use as a salad, is used 

 to ornament dishes before it is eaten, a red leaved 

 form will be very desirable. 



Sugar in America. — The Boston Journal 

 thinks it useless, after so many years, trying to 



