19S 



GARDENING. 



Mar. 75 t 



more plenty, for we want it in our shows. 

 Walker's Coronet was a thing of merit, 

 coming the nearest to an orange stripe. 

 It's short stems were a defect. He is 

 working on a Flambeau mixture, and 

 the best things in it are some grandiflora 

 stripes of ox-blood red. I wish to com- 

 mend his work now that I have no 

 further business connection with him. 

 For seven years I have watched his con- 

 scientious work, and if sweet peas have 

 any future he deserves a show in the re- 

 wards. Peter Henderson & Co. have 

 secured a novelty called Minnehaha from 

 him, a fine selection from his Flambeau 

 hybrids. The prospect for 1898 is bright. 

 The reports indicate that the sweet pea 

 shows will be more of a feature than 

 ever. W. T. Hutchins. 



Publications. 



BOOKS AND BULLETINS. 

 Principal insect Enemies of the 

 Grape.— By C. L. Mar/att.— Department 

 of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, 1898. 

 — This is a reprint in popular bulletin 

 form of the matter which appeared on 

 the subject in the Year-book of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture for 1895. The 

 pamphlet of twenty-four pages contains 

 excellent descriptions and illustrations ot 

 the insect pests peculiar to the grape, 

 with remedies. 



A Fungus Disease of the San Jose 

 Scale.— By P. H. Rolfs.— Florida Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, Lake City, 

 Fla., 1897.— The author of this bulletin 

 calls attention to a fungus enemy of the 

 San Jose scale which may become of much 

 service in the eradication of this noxious 

 insect. It is claimed that the fungus is a 

 native of Florida; that in several instances 

 it is recorded as an important factor in 

 controlling insects; that it may be trans- 

 ferred to trees infested with the scale, pro- 

 ducing a disease among the insects; that 

 large quantities of material may be pro- 

 duced in the laboratory in a short time 

 and at slight expense; and that the 

 laboratory-grown material may be ap- 

 plied successfully by fruit growers. 



A Bacterial Disease of Sweet Corn. 

 —By F. C. Stewart.— New York Experi- 

 mental Station, Geneva, N. Y., 1897.— 

 Sweet corn in one or two sections of the 

 country, Long Island and Iowa, is sub- 

 ject to a disease whose presence is made 

 manifest by the wilting and withering of 

 the plants without apparent cause. The 

 wilting may take place at any stage of 

 growth, but is most likely to occur about 

 the time of flowering. This behavior is 

 attributed to the presence of bacteria, 

 which it appears are most destructive to 

 early varieties. So far field corn and pop 

 corn are entirely exempt. The disease is 

 disseminated chiefly by means of the germs 

 which cling to the seed, but also by 

 manure, implements and washing of the 

 soil. The principal remedies are care in 

 the selection of seed and the planting of 

 resistant varieties. Lime and sulphur, 

 applied to the soil, have been tried and 

 proven unsuccessful. 



Garden-Making —By L. H. Bailey.— 

 The Macmillan Co., New York, 1898 — 

 Prof. Bailey, in this new book, again dis- 

 plays his pronounced and finished faculty 

 of getting together the best information 

 that is to be had on a given subject, and 

 presenting it in a style at once entertain- 

 ing and instructive. This little work is 

 an addition to theeminently useful garden- 



craft volumes, and in many respects we 

 consider it the best of the entire series. To 

 amateur gardeners, for whom it is de- 

 signed, it will be simply invaluable; but 

 even the seasoned professional man will 

 find it worthy of perusal, and he will be 

 surprised at the frequency with which 

 new and striking ideas start out from the 

 pages in graphic outline. Thebook covers 

 every form of outdoor gardening in suffi- 

 cient detail to satisfy the ordinary needs, 

 and standard authorities are named for 

 reference in cases where full particulars 

 may be desirable. Every subject is ad- 

 mirably illustrated — we might almost 

 say every idea, so numerous are the 

 pictures — and in addition to showing the 

 best results of good work and the most 

 useful devices, the course usually followed, 

 the figures have companions in many 

 cases which expose the defects of various 

 contrivances and bring out the errors of 

 faulty plans and inartistic arrangement. 



Report of the Park and Outdoor 

 Art Assoclvtion. — The first report of 

 this new organization has come to hand, 

 and it contains a large amount of valu- 

 able information concerning public parks 

 and their management. It was, we be- 

 lieve, the park commissioners of Louis ville, 

 Kentucky, who took the initiative in the 

 formation of the association, and the first 

 meeting of the parties interested in the 

 movement was held in that city, "For 

 the purpose of discussing such matters as 

 appertain to park development, in order 

 that a wider influence may be exerfed 

 throughout the country in the line of 

 park work and in the proper construc- 

 tion of pleasure grounds for the people." 

 The report covers the proceedings of the 

 first meeting, which took place May 20, 

 1897, and was well attended by repre- 

 sentative men from various sections of 

 the country. Papers were read by John 

 C. Olmsted, Andrew Cowan, James 

 Gurney, H. W. Jones, T. H. MacBride, L. 

 E. Holden, Warren H. Manning, Wm. S. 

 Egerton, Wm. T. Pierce and Lewis John- 

 son. The essays of these gentlemen are 

 embodied in tlie report, and they are all 

 valuable. We hope to have an early op- 

 portunity to refer to some of them at 

 greater length in these columns. On the 

 motion of H. W. Jones the following reso- 

 lution was unanimously adopted: "That 

 it is the sense of this convention that the 

 successful development of parks through- 

 out this country depends very largely 

 upon the entire elimination of politics 

 from their control and management; and 

 we urge upon the citizens the necessity for 

 the appointment as park commissioners 

 and other officials such persons only as 

 have sympathy, taste and ability in the 

 preservation and culture of nature and 

 art." The next meeting of the associa- 

 tion will be held at Minneapolis June 23, 

 1898. 



Miscellaneous. 



MELONS AND CUCUMBERS IN ADJOINING 

 FIELDS. 



Your letter asking my views as to grow- 

 ing cucumbers and melons in adjoining 

 fields is received. This, perhaps, is a sub- 

 ject that the seed grower will naturally 

 "wish to avoid discussing publicly; but as 

 it is of vital importance to the market 

 gardener, as well as to the private gar- 

 dener, it should be carefully considered by 

 the growers. The generally accepted 

 idea has been that cucumbers and musk- 

 melons will not mix or cross. The agri- 

 cultural experiment stations have con- 



ducted experiments along this line, and I 

 have yet to see a report where an actual 

 cross or hybrid has been produced, and 

 yet we see reports by private individuals 

 who claim they have produced such 

 hybrids. 



My own observations lead me to believe 

 that they will not hybridize. If this was 

 possible we would have to-day a consid- 

 erable line of types half melon and half 

 cucumber, whereas we have but three 

 types that appear to stand midway 

 between the two fruits — Vine Peach or 

 Vegetable Orange, the little ornamental 

 Pomegranate, and the Snake cucumbers. 

 Any one of these will cross readily with 

 muskmelons, while two at least will cross 

 with cucumbers. I am strongly of the 

 opinion that the isolated cases we read 

 of, where it is said that a cross has been 

 produced between a cucumber and a 

 melon, can be traced to a little blood 

 appearing from one or the other of the 

 above varieties. I do not know the cor- 

 rect history or origin of these varieties, 

 but do not think they are hybrids of 

 either cucumbers or muskmelons. 



The matter of quality is different. For 

 some six years I have watched closely to 

 see what results, if any, would accrue 

 from growing melons beside cucumbers. 

 My advice now is, "Don't doit." While 

 I question their actually mixing, yet, the 

 delicate flavor of a melon is easily injured, 

 and every effort should be made to retain 

 all its spicy, aromatic qualities. Outside 

 conditions may influence where they can- 

 not control; cucumbers may influence 

 quality where they cannot influence type. 

 J. C. Robinson. 



A WORD ABOUT HOTBEDS. 



It is now time to start hotbeds, even 

 with a half-dozen sashes, if this has not 

 already been done. Any number of sashes 

 may be employed, but six affords accom- 

 modation for quite a good supply of 

 material, while more, of course, will be 

 needed where the demands are large. 



A southern exposure, sheltered from 

 north and west winds, should be chosen 

 as a site for the bed. Here a pit must be 

 dug six feet wide by eighteen feet long 

 and fifteen to twenty inches deep, throw- 

 ing the soil where it will be handy for use 

 again inside the frame. Having a pit of 

 the desired capacity, fill it to a depth of 

 ten inches with fresh horse manure, tread- 

 ing it down firmly and repeating the pro- 

 cess until the surface of the manure is 

 flush with the ground level. The frame, 

 which should be from eight to ten inches 

 higher on the back or northern side than 

 in front, may now be placed in position. 



The difference in the height of the back 

 and front of the frame will give it the 

 proper angle of exposure to the sun, which 

 is a strong factor in the subsequent 

 development of the plants. The manure, 

 after standing a day or two, should be 

 covered with five or six inches of soil, 

 with the sashes over all, leaving the 

 entire fabric until the heat falls to about 

 90°, which may be ascertained on plung- 

 ing a thermometer in the bed. 



The surface of the bed should now be 

 leveled and raked, when it will be ready 

 for the seeds. Early supplies of luttuce, 

 radishes and carrots are readily obtained 

 from such a hotbed, sowing the seeds in 

 lines four inches or thereabouts apart. 

 Onion sets may also be planted, and the 

 radishes and onions, which attain the 

 required proportions in from fifteen to 

 twenty days, and the lines of which being 

 disposed alternately with those of the 

 carrots and lettuce, may be gathered and 

 out of the way when the latter need more 

 space. 



