234 



GARDENING. 



April 15, 



but they can be kept out to quite an ex- 

 tent if the soil be covered to the depth of 

 one-half an inch with fine coal ashes. 

 Lettuce for the home garden may also be 

 sown in drills and not transplanted, or 

 the plants may be moved wherever 

 wanted. For a curly lettuce, Grand Rap- 

 ids is a standard variety. Boston Market 

 or White Seeded .Tennis-ball is a popular 

 sort. Cos lettuce requires blanching, 

 either by tying or by banking with earth. 

 As with radishes, always make several 

 successive sowings so as to have lettuce 

 fresh and crisp for the table. 



Peas may be sown very earl_y. Little 

 Gem, Alaska and American Wonder are 

 good for an early crop, while for late the 

 Champion of England is still a popular 

 variety. Successive sowings of peas may 

 be made. As a rule, mildew is more liable 

 to attack peas in late than in early sum- 

 mer, so the crop is somewhat lessened. 

 Beans may be planted either in hills or 

 drills, but not until the ground is warm 

 and dry. My preference for an early 

 string bean is the Dwarf Golden Wax. 

 This has yellow pods. If a green podded 

 sort is desired, Early Red Valentine is a 

 good one. For shelled beans to be eaten 

 green the Limas are superior to others. 

 The dwarf or bush sorts are better for gen- 

 eral garden planting than the pole sorts. 

 Burpee's Bush Lima and Henderson's 

 Dwarf Lima are commonly cultivated. 

 Dreer's Improved is a good pole variety. 

 Lima beans are also used dry. For bak- 

 ing, no varieties excel the old Pea sorts, 

 several varieties of which are now on the 

 market. 



No vegetable is more delicious or more 

 deserving of a place in the kitchen garden 

 than the cauliflower, yet the crop is often a 

 failure in many gardens. Seed may be 

 sown in the open ground in May and the 

 plants should be transplanted in rows 

 two feet apart in the row. The soil 

 should be well supplied with moisture 

 and not too rich in plant food, as the 

 plants will not head as well. The same 

 is true in growing cabbages. Dwarf 

 Erfurt and Early Snowball are excellent 

 varieties. For cabbages, Early Jersey, 

 Wakefield, Winnigstadt and Late Flat 

 Dutch will give a good succession. 



Sweet corn is a most desirable adjunct, 

 and I should not plant a garden of any 

 size and omit it. The kernels should be 

 planted in hills or drills during May, at a 

 time when the earth is warm and dry. 

 For early, Cory is a good sort, while for 

 late varieties Country Gentleman and 

 Stowell's Evergreen are standards. The 

 cucumber, too, must be given a place. 

 Early Russian will give a small crop early 

 in the season, and White Spine is a good 

 all-purpose variety. Eclipse and Early 

 Egyptian for beets, Early Scarlet Horn 

 and Long Orange for carrots, Large Su- 

 gar for parsnips, and Early White Flat 

 Dutch for turnips are standard varieties, 

 and one will not go far amiss in planting 

 them. Perfection, Beauty, and Lorillard, 

 are good varieties of the tomato for out- 

 door culture. If onions can be grown. 

 White Portugal, Yellow Globe Danvers 

 and Prize-taKer will be found good varie- 

 ties. By all means plant a bunch of 

 chives to use in early spring for flavoring. 



Manv other delicious vegetables, such 

 as rhubarb, celery, asparagus, egg-plant, 

 melons and squashes, should also be 

 planted if there is room in the garden. 

 We might also say potatoes, but the po- 

 tato is now grown so extensively in field 

 culture that many prefer to exclude it 

 from small gardens and purchase the 

 supply. In a short article of this kind it 

 is impossible to speak of all the good vari- 

 eties. There are many new ones, but I 



have mentioned those which have been 

 tested by years of culture, and which will 

 be likely to succeed generally in most 

 places. As a rule, it is best for the ama- 

 teur to select standard varieties for his 

 gardening operations. W. E. Britton. 

 New Haven, Conn. 



GRAPE NOTES. 



There are grown here a collection of 

 some sixty-eight varieties of grapes, all 

 carefully selected and tested. The last 

 candidate for public favor, Campbell's 

 Early, I consider the best that has come 

 under my observation. It fruited here 

 the first time last autumn. On account 

 of its good qualities — hardiness, earlitiess. 

 attractive appearance, berries adhering 

 long time to bunch after ripe and not 

 easily bruised — it is valuable for transpor- 

 tation. Its originator, for whom it is 

 named, is a gentleman well known to po- 

 mologists throughout the eountr}-. He 

 has been engaged in the work of hybrid- 

 izing grapes nearly forty years, and suc- 

 cess has ultimately crowned his efforts in 

 the production of this sterling variety. 



With regard to the culture of grapes, 

 there is nothing new to experienced grow- 

 ers; but for the benefit of amateurs it may 

 be said that the best results are produced 

 only on well prepared soil. If not natu- 

 rally well drained, then it should be under 

 drained. There are many modes of prun- 

 ing, but I have been most successful with 

 the renewal system, producing new canes 

 annually and allowing half of them to 

 fruit the second or third year. Afterplant- 

 ing in November, the canes that fruited 

 in any given year should be removed, 

 allowing the others to fruit during the 

 following year. I think more fail by leav- 

 ing too much wood rather than too little. 

 I would not recommend amateurs to cul- 

 tivate for home use more than eight or ten 

 kinds, and in most cases they will be as 

 well satisfied with a half dozen kinds. I 

 have never used anything but flowers of 

 sulphur on the vines, distributed with a 

 bellows made for the purpose, and as a 

 rule the foliage has been kept in health}* 

 condition. It may have been necessary 

 for others, but I have never made use of 

 any of the poisonous preparations so 

 strongly advocated. 



Benjamin G. Smith. 



Cambridge, Mass. 



STRAWBERRY NOTES. 



Prof. Troop gives the following timely 

 suggestions as to the selection and cul- 

 ture of strawberries in a recent bulletin 

 of Purdue University Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, Lafayette, Indiana: 



The list of strawberries grown on our 

 experiment grounds the past season, 

 comprised eighty-six varieties, the most 

 of which are of comparatively recent in- 

 troduction, a few of them having fruited 

 but a single season. Many of these seem 

 to possess some good qualities, while 

 some have done only moderately well, 

 and a few will be dropped as unworthy 

 of further trial. Our list of strawberries 

 has become so large, we cannot afford to 

 spend time on a variety unless it soon 

 shows that it possesses some good quali- 

 ties which other older varieties do not. 

 These good or bad qualities do not al- 

 ways manifest themselves the first sea- 

 son, and so we have made it a rule not to 

 discard a variety until it has been on 

 trial for at least three years. 



The requirements for profitable varie- 

 ties of small fruits are much the same as 

 for orchard fruits. If a varietv is wanted 

 for market, the principal points to be 

 considered are its ability to carrv well 



and look well when placed upon the 

 market. For strawberries, then, these 

 desirable points might be named in the 

 following order: — (1) solidity or firm- 

 ness, (2) brilliancy of color, (3) size and 

 shape, (4) flavor. Flavor plays a very 

 insignificant part in the large strawberry 

 markets, where fruit is sold on its general 

 appearance. Of course, in order to pro- 

 duce these desirable qualities, the plant 

 must be naturally productive, a vigorous 

 grower, with healthy foliage, so that 

 there may be no check to the growth of 

 the fruit from start to finish. 



If the variet}' is wanted for the home 

 garden, the same qualities of plant are 

 essential, but flavor should be placed 

 earlier in the scale of points. Among the 

 newer varieties which may be favorably 

 mentioned, are the following: B indi- 

 cates a perfect blossom, P indicates a 

 pistillate blossom. 



Beverly (B). — Ripens early, a vigorous 

 plant, productive, fruit large, very firm 

 and of good quality. 



Bird (B). — Very desirable for the home 

 garden. 



Brandy wine ( B I.— When grown in hills, 

 it produces a magnificent crop of fine 

 fruit. 



Brunette (B).— Medium in size, but for 

 richness of flavor it should occupy first 

 place. 



Clyde (B). — One of the most productive 

 varieties in the whole list. Ripens early 

 and continues through the season. 



Howard (P). — A desirable berry for 

 either the home garden or the market. 



Quality (B). — As Ihe name indicates, it 

 possesses excellent quality. Plant vigor- 

 ous and productive under high culture. 



To the aoove list should be added for 

 general cultivation, these well known 

 varieties :— Beder Wood (B), Bubach (P), 

 Edgar Oueen (P), Eureka (P), Gandv 

 (B), Greenville (P), Haverland (P), Jessie 

 (B). Parker Earle (B), Shuster (P) and 

 Warfield (P). The last is the best of all 

 for canning. 



Miscellaneous. 



HINTS ON PRIZE LISTS FOR DAHLIA SHOWS. 



A prize schedule should contain suffi- 

 cient classes with an ample number of 

 good prizes in each class to call forth the 

 best competitors. In accounts of English 

 dahlia shows 1 have found sixth, seventh 

 and eighth prizes not uncommon. The 

 inevitable result of so extended a list is to 

 stimulate and encourage the widest com- 

 petition, which in its turn reacts to arouse 

 public interest in the exhibition. 



The following schedule is offered as 

 being sufficiently comprehensive for the 

 largest special dahlia show and as capa- 

 ble of adaptation by proper selection to 

 the smallest county fair. No number or 

 value of prizes is indicated as this must be 

 determined by the special circumstances 

 of each case. 



A Largest and best collection, all sections, nol 



Irss than - variftii's. 



]( Show dahlias: 1. best collection; 2, i»'st 25; :'. 

 besl 12. 



t' Fancy dahlias: I, best collection; 2, best 25: 

 3, best 12. 



D Pompon dahlias: 1. l"'st collection; 2, best 

 2b; 3, besl 12, 



E Cactus dahlias: 1, best collection; '.'. in'st AS: 

 :i in 'st. 12. 



I'' Decorative dahlias : 1, best collection; 2, besl 

 25: :*. besl 1.'. 



G Single dahlias: 1. besl collection; '.'. i»-si 25; 

 :!. besl 12, 



In special shows where there is sufficient 

 material from which to draw there should 

 be added a class of fifty in each section 



