766 



HORTICULTURE 



December 3, 1910 



Not only can peaches and nectarines be utilized for 

 this purpose but also apples, pears, cherries, plums and 

 figs. FVuiting trees can be obtained through any lead- 

 ing seed store, and if this is contemplated orders sliould 

 be placed at once as all trees should be potted up by the 

 end of this month. Trees which have already done 

 service should now be overhauled. Do any pruning 

 necessary, remove all rims which were used to add top 

 dressings, shake off old manure and gently loosen up the 

 top. Eemove any old soil from the ball which can be 

 removed without breaking many roots and repot. 



Only give a shift when absolutely necessary as there 

 is nothing gained by getting trees in very large pots or 

 tubs. Use a good fibrous loam which has been stacked 

 for three or four months and add enough lime rubble to 

 keep it open. Eam just as hard as possible, excepting in 

 the case of figs which prefer a lighter hand. 



After potting thoroughly water in and plunge pots in 

 leaves and straw litter a foot above the rim of the pot. 

 They can be left outside until severe weather 

 sets in. Fifteen degrees frost will do no damage but af- 

 ter that the tips are liable to be affected. It is safer to 

 house figs at once, as much frost is injurious to their 

 sappy wood. Varieties which have proved themselves 

 well adapted for pot work are : 



Peaches — Waterloo, Duke of York, Hale's Early, Pere- 

 grine, Thomas Rivers (late). 



Apples — Lady Sudeley (small, but very early). Cox's 

 Orange Pippen, Cox's Romona, Gascoyne's scarlet. Peas- 

 good Nonsuch. 



Nectarines — Cardinal, Pine Apple, Early Rivers, Lord 

 Napier, Humbolt (late.) 



Pears — Williams Bon Chretien, Marguerite Marillat, 

 Marie Louise, Douyennfi du Cornice, Dr. Jules Guyot. 



Plums — Early Transparent, Denniston's Superb, Kirke's, 

 M'Laughlin's, Coe's Golden Drop. 



Cherries — May Duke, Governor Wood, Elton, Black 

 Tartarian, Noble. 



Figs — Brown Turkey, Negro Largo, White Marseilles, 

 White Ischia, Black Ischia. 



BUSH BEANS 



Tliis much appreciated vegetable can always be "on 

 hand," by making sowing at intervals of ten days. Sow 

 in double rows, 18 inches apart. Give night temperature 

 of 55 degrees. Syringe every day to keep down insect 

 pests. Black Valentine is far ahead of any other bean 

 for forcing, followed by Ne Plus Ultra, Triumph of 

 Frames, etc. 



LETTUCE 



The supply which has hitherto been coming from cold 

 frames has now become scarce and encouragement should 

 be given to later sown stock coming along in vegetable 

 house. Keep the surface soil lightly cultivated and any 

 half developed heads will be greatly benefited by a weak 

 feeding once a week. 



SPINACH 



This highly nutritious vegetable does not suit every 

 one's palate, but where there is a demand, make a sow- 

 ing every week. Sow in drills 1 foot apart ; give a tem- 

 perature of 50 to 55 degrees. Round Viroflay or Vic- 

 toria will force well. 



*fe^-u^ 



--^^W., 



The Wizard of the North 



Few people know what that quiet man — Prof. W. B. 

 Hansen is doing now. Three times he braved danger 



and death up in the Arctic Circle to find the northern 

 belt of alfalfa. He wanted to find hay and forage for 

 (he great North West. He passed the region where the 

 red gave place to the yellow, and on and up where the 

 yellow grew in its wildness giving both winter and 

 summer feed to the hardy horses and other animals of 

 the far North. He showed me 20 kinds of clovers he 

 kinds of clovers he had brought home. But his great 

 work is with the yellow-flowered alfalfa. 



The Prof, thinks, and trulj^, that we must have a 

 hardy strain to begin with. Now he is confronted with 

 this problem — how to secure the most prolific strains 

 of his new introductions. One trouble with the yellow- 

 flowered is that it is too sprawly in its habit. This 

 does not hurt it for grazing but for hay it is necessary 

 to secure a plant with an upright stem. He is at work 

 on this now. Out of an immense number of seedlings, 

 he selects the best and develops these. He will keep 

 at it till he secures the upright form with bountiful 

 foliage — a good hay producer. He will make it win 

 and it means millions on millions for the great bleak 

 North West. He selected some specimens from the high 

 steppes of Siberia exposed to 50 degrees below. 



Equally important is his work in producing hardy 

 fruits, especially with the plurn. Here comes in the 

 necessity of putting good fruit on a hardy stock. He 

 chooses the Dakota wild plum and the native sand 

 cherry. This last must be gotten in shape. Some of 

 the fruit is too astringent; this fault must be elimin- 

 ated. So patiently for four and five generations he has 

 discarded the poorer ones by the thousands, till now 

 he has secured a fine native fruit We grew some this 

 year here at York and it was good. Now having se- 

 cured a hardy stock with good fruit, he is ready for 

 work, and has already procured some very fine types. 



He has crossed the Japan gold plum with the im- 

 proved sand cherry and secured a splendid and luscious 

 fruit called Opata. He crossed Prunus pisardi on the 

 same stock and has produced the most beautiful orna- 

 mental shrub we know of. It has not yet fruited but 

 we expect that with its unrivalled beauty, it will pro- 

 duce great masses of purple fruit. He has scores of 

 other fruits on the way, so that before long all that 

 fruitless North West will be glorified with orchards 

 charming in bloom and luscious in burden. Sunbeam 

 raspberry is hardy without covering in Manitoba. It is 

 very productive and the fruit is excellent. Dakota No. 

 3 strawberry is another production. It needs no cover- 

 ing in winter. We have had it three years and while 

 the growth is not as good as some others, nor the fruit 

 quite so large, every time in our recent trying springs it 

 has beaten tlio Dunlap and others. It is just the thing 

 for the busy farmer. It virtually says to him, "we will 

 take care of ourselves, and in fruit season you come 

 around with your pail." 



Prof. Hansen is a Dane by birth, now in his glorious 

 prime and no man has a brighter future. May the 

 kindlv Providence which watched over him in his peril- 

 ous wanderings, give him long life and success in his 

 stupendous work. He is professor of Horticulture in 

 the South Dakota Agricultural College, located at 

 Brookings. Tliis is a beautiful town with a population 

 of nearly 4,000. It is located in a very fertile region. 

 The college is thronged with busy and enthusiastic boys 

 and girls who will make themselves felt in that grand 

 voung' state. 



Yorl; Nebrasl-a. 



C f ^fixyrv^l'^1^ 



