i8 97 . 



' ' GARDENING. 



245 



to a hill, and afterward all but the strong- 

 est plant removed. The leading shoot of 

 each plant was trained to a wire trellis, 

 and the point pinched out when about 3 

 feet high. When the growth became 

 thick it was thinned out, and when 

 blooms appeared the shoot was pinched 

 off about a leaf beyond it, so as to throw 

 all the strength into the bloom. Any lat- 

 erals that appeared below werecut away. 

 As soon as the plants filled the soil with 

 roots and were in a vigorous growing 

 condition they were frequently fed with 

 weak manure water. Fruit was gath- 

 ered in November and the crop will con- 

 tinue till tomatoes are obtainable from 

 outdoor grown plants. During December 

 and January fruit sets sparingly and each 

 blossom must be hand fertilized, as the 

 usual agencies such as insects, wind, etc., 

 seem to be inoperative during the stretch 

 of dull, dark weather. 



Cucumbers are sown on the bench about 

 August 15, three hills to start, leaving 

 two vines to a hill. About the middle of 

 September another similar sowing is 

 made, making six hills, which is all that 

 space can be allowed for. Later a few 

 seeds are started in fern pans, kept near 

 the light and growing right along, and 

 transplanted as the old vines give out. 



Beans are grown in pots as shown 

 in the illustration. The varieties are 

 "Flageolet" and "Golden Wax." The 

 latter has a little better flavor but the 

 former is more prolific and sets fruit bet- 

 ter in winter. The first lot is put in 

 about the middle of August, consisting of 

 about 25 pots, sowing five seeds to an S- 

 inch pot. The five seeds are almost sure 

 to grow and the five plants are retained 

 in the pot. Successional sowings are 

 made once a week through the season. 



worth White, with white berries. The 

 house is kept cold from fall until March 

 1. The vines are pruned in January, and 

 the house started up March 1 with a 

 temperature of 45°, about two weeks 

 later the temperature is increased to 55° 

 and four or five weeks later it is raised to 

 60° at which it is afterward maintained. 

 In the picture the canes are shown held 



to throw the whole strength into the 

 berries. The Black Hamburgh first 

 ripens about the middle of July. Muscat 

 comes next, about three weeks afterward, 

 and the others follow still a few weeks 

 later. The bunches of fruit are often 

 bagged to prevent insects from stinging 

 and disfiguring them. The grapes will 

 hang on a long time after they are ripe 



Display of Bulbous Flowers and Cinerarias. 



The Rose House. 

 GREENHOUSES OF MR. M. A. RY1HS0N, CHICAGO. 



and may be kept till fall if desired. The 

 Gros Colman and Black Alicante improve 

 in flavor if allowed to hang on the vines 

 some little time. 



The grape in a pot is destined to make 

 a unique center piece for a dinner table. 

 It is a Muscat of Alexandria and is in a 

 12-inch pot. When the vine was pruned 

 the little 4- inch pot, which had an extra 

 large drainage hole in the bottom, was 

 slipped down over the cane. As can be 

 seen in the engraving the pot rests on a 

 stout stake of proper height and is secured 

 in position by other stakes to which it is 

 wired. Before the pot was placed in po- 

 sition the cane was cut diagonally part 

 way through, the cleft was held open by 

 inserting a piece of tooth pick, and then 

 the pot secured in proper place, filled with 

 soil and topped with moss to retain 

 moisture. The grape is rooting into the 

 small pot while still drawing nourish- 

 ment from its old roots in the large 

 pot. When the grapes are ripe the cane 

 will be cut off below the small pot and 

 the whole plant will be used as a center- 

 piece for a dinner table decoration. Of 

 course the long growths seen in the pict- 

 ure will have been cut in and the plant be 

 more compact. As will be seen the plant 

 is now in bloom and the location of the 

 bunches of grapes is already determined. 



During midwinter it is 8 to 9 weeks from 

 sowing to picking but at other times it is 

 about 7 weeks only. The plant shown 

 in the engraving was in bloom when pho- 

 tographed April 6 and on the 20th the 

 beans were well matured. 



The grapes, of which a few canes are 

 seen in one of the engravings, are of the 

 following sorts: Black Hamburgh, which 

 matures earliest; Muscat of Alexandria, 

 which has the finest flavor; Gros Colman, 

 a very beautiful berry; Black Alicante, 

 which makes superb bunches; Charles- 



down at the ends by the weight of bricks" 

 tied on. This is to induce the vines to 

 start growths evenly at all the eyes along 

 the canes. Otherwise the growth would 

 be mainly at the end of the cane and the 

 growth could not be so evenly distributed. 

 The leader of each vine is carried up to 

 the ridge of the house and stopped there. 

 When the growths that start out along 

 the cane show the fruit bud the tip is 

 pinched out a leaf beyond the bud. As 

 the growth starts again irom the eyes 

 back of this place it is again pinched out, 



ASPARAGUS PLUMOSUS NANUS. 



A lateral growth of the above is sent to 

 me with the following: "Is this the kind 

 quoted in the cut flower market. Please 

 give instructions how to propagate it 

 and cultural directions. Will it climb 

 strings if it has a chance?" 



The species known as \sparagus plu- 

 mosus nanus, which is the plant of which 

 a spray is sent, is to me a misnomer, for 

 nanus signifies dwarf or small, while this 



