58 



TJie Horticulturist and Jom^al 



as cheapest label, as suggested by a Tribune 

 correspondent is zinc, with copper or brass 

 wire, and the name written with a common 

 lead pencil. I have such now in my or- 

 chards, some two years old, that are as legi- 

 ble to-day as when first hung on the trees. 

 All that is necessary when consulting these 

 marks is to merely apply a little moisture 

 to the surface, and the writing becomes at 

 once black, and is readily deciphered. 

 There is some danger in the wires rubbing 

 out the hole in the label. I obviate this 

 partially by punching the hole in the center 

 of the label, which prevents an excess of 

 swaying in the wind. Labels for small 

 fruits or plants must receive two good coats 

 of paint, and then dip them in a pot of hot 

 gas-tar, about as deep as they should go in 

 the soil. When ready for use, apply a 

 thin coat of paint over the side intended to 

 be written upon, and while fresh, with the 

 aid of a rather hard lead pencil, write the 

 name. We thus have a distinguishing mark 

 that will not decay under the soil for at 

 least ten years, and will withstand the 

 action of the weather for very nearly as 

 long. The ordinary wire label attached to 

 trees that have been procured from the 

 nurseries, will in a short time " cut in " 

 through the bark of the trunk or branch to 

 which it is fastened, and thus soon destroy 

 the same ; therefore always remove these at 

 once, and replace with the zinc label afore- 

 said, being careful at the same time to allow 

 plenty of room for the branch to expand 

 before the wire shall clasp it tightly. 



Everbearing Raspberries.— Mr. Flagg 

 of the Prairie Farmer, says that the only 

 everbearing raspberry he ever saw that 

 proved profitable, is the Ohio Everbearing, 

 heavily manured. 



For Hanging Baskets. — Line the 

 basket with moss, with a little soil attached. 

 Place in the center a small pot, containing 

 a showy plant of upright habit ; fill up the 

 surrounding space with rich woods and old 

 hot-bed soil ; fill in with plants of a climb- 



ing or trailing habit ; when the center fades 

 you can replace it by a fresh plant. In fill- 

 ing a basket, select plants of a similar nature 

 — such as like shade and moisture — the Fus- 

 chia. Lobelia, Ivy Greraniums. Ivies, Lina- 

 ria, Panicum, Balms, gold and silver Vinca, 

 Ferns. A basket for a hot, sunny situation 

 should be filled with Coleus for the center ; 

 also, Petunia (double), Sedums, Convolvulus 

 minor, Nasturtiums, Begonia, Mignonette, 

 for trailing. A carnation will make a con- 

 stant blooming centre — a Coleus a brilliant 

 one. — Ain. Farmer. 



A Pure White Abutilon has been intro- 

 duced into England by Messrs. Standish 

 & Co. of Ascot, from the South of France, 

 and has successfully withstood the winter, 

 growing in the open air. It is described as 

 a " fine, bold-leaved variety, blooming with 

 great profusion, and throwing its chaste, 

 bell-shaped blossoms outside the leaves." 



Salt For Strawberries.— D. Stewart, of 

 Upper Alton, 111,, believes in salt. He 

 says : 



"I believe in it as a heavy dressing. I 

 find on manuring the ground that I have 

 applied salt to strawberries at the rate of 

 thirteen and a half bushels to the acre. I 

 did this early in the season, to kill the 

 beetles, and the leaves of the strawberries 

 were not injured. The cut-worms were 

 doing great damage to my asparagus beds, 

 eating into the crowns of the plants; and I 

 applied salt at the rate of twenty bushels to 

 the acre. I consider salt as a perfect remedy 

 against many injurious insects, as well as an 

 excellent manure for the land. 



Culture and Manure of Asparagus. — 

 The subject of asparagus was brought up 

 for discussion before the Concord (Mass.) 

 Farmer's Club, and Capt. Moore said : 



One hundred and fifty years ago some 

 book-maker asserted that asparagus grew 

 naturally on the coast of Spain, in places 

 where the high tides flowed; and inferred 

 from this fact that salt was a specific fcrti- 



