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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



THE PLANTING OF THE APPLE 

 TREE. 



WM. CULLEN BRYANT. 



Come, let us plant the apple-tree, 

 Cleave the tough green sward with the spade : 

 Wide let its hollow bed be made ; 

 There gently lay the roots, and there 

 Sift the dark mold with kindly care, 



And press it o'er them tenderly ; 

 As 'round the sleeping infant's feet 

 We softly fold the cradle-sheet, 



So plant we the apple-tree. 



What plant we in this apple-tree ? 

 Buds, which the breath of summer days 

 Shall lengthen into leafy sprays ; 

 Boughs, where the thrush, with crimson breast, 

 Shall haunt and sing, and hide her nest ; 



We plant upon the sunny lea 

 A shadow for the noontide hour, 

 A shelter from the summer shower. 



When we plant the apple-tree. 



What plant we in this apple-tree ? 

 Sweets for a hundred flowery springs 

 To load the May-wind's restless wings, 

 When, from the orchard row, he pours 

 Its fragrance through our open doors ; 



A world of blossoms for the bee, 

 Flowers for the sick girl's silent room. 

 For the glad infant sprigs of bloom. 



We plant with the apple-tree. 



What plant we in this apple-tree ? 

 Fruits that shall swell in sunny June, 

 And redden in the August noon. 

 And drop, when gentle airs come by, 

 That tan the blue Se|ttember sky ; 



While children come with cries of glee. 

 And seek them where the fragrant grass 

 Betrays their bed to those who pass, 



At the foot of the apple-tree. 



And, when above this apple-tree, 

 The winter stars are glittering bright. 

 And winds go howling through the night, 

 Girls whose young eyes o'erflow with mirth 

 Shall peal its fruit by cottage-hearth. 



And guests in prouder homes shall see, 

 Heaped with the grape of Cintra's vine. 

 And golden orange of the line, 



The fruit of the apple-tree. 



Floricultural. — Every garden should 

 have a clump of lilies. They are easily 

 cultivated, and require but little atten- 

 tion. The bulbs should be planted five 

 or six inches deep. In fall, cover them 

 with coarse manure. The following are 

 desirable varieties : Auratum, the famous 

 gold-banded lily from Japan, which only 

 a few years ago sold at $5 each ; Candi- 

 dum, the old, common white, but still 

 one of the best ; Brownii, trumpet-shaped, 

 rich purple on the outside, cream-white 

 within ; Lancifolium album, white ; Ru- 

 hrum, white and red ; and Eximium, large 

 wliite flower of exquisite shape. — Libby's 

 Flower Garden. 



Horticultural Notes. — A vineyard of 

 50 acres in New Jersey, in 1880, market- 

 ed 80 tons of grapes, and in 1881 a larger 

 amount. Estimating the grapes to be 

 worth three cents per pound at the vine- 

 yard, the income from the 150,000 pounds 

 would be $4,500, or $96 per acre, with 

 less than half the labor required to grow 

 an acre of wheat or com. 



Proportion of Farmers. — The last 

 report of the Commissioner of Agriculture 

 shows that 7,600,000 persons in the United 

 States are engaged in agricultural pur- 

 suits. The total value of farms and farm 

 implements is $13,461,200,438, or two- 

 thirds of the productive wealth of the 

 nation. The value of farm products and 

 live stock for 1878 was $3,000,000,000 

 against $2,800,000,000 of mining and 

 manufacturing products. Thus it appears 

 that only a majority of the adult popula- 

 tion of the United States is engaged in 

 agriculture, but more than one-half the 

 wealth of the Union is invested in that 

 industry. 



Paper Bags for Grapes. — Having 

 read with considerable interest the writ- 

 ings of horticulturists in reference to 

 protecting grapes with bags while young, 

 I tried the experiment. Having less than 

 two dozen young vines, I shall say no- 

 thing of the cost or trouble of bagging 

 grapes. My vines are rather close to the 

 hen-yard, and I have always had trouble 

 in this direction. The hens have inva- 

 riably destroyed all the grapes before 

 they were quite ripe, and thus caused me 

 some annoyance. I saved all the paper 

 bags that came into the house, and after 

 the grapes were formed I commenced bag- 

 ging them, and kept at it until they were 

 almost full grown. Bagging may not be 

 an effectual remedy for all the other ills 

 which grape flesh is heir to, but I have 

 found it a perfect remedy for all inter- 

 ference on the part of poultry. I believe 

 that grapes will ripen just as well, if not 

 better, in strong paper bags as otherwise. 

 They will ripen as evenly, and if care- 

 fully handled will retain the same beauti- 

 ful bloom, which is the greatest charm of 

 a table grape. I have grapes growing in 

 bags, and not bagged at all, upon the 

 same vine. I am satisfied that it is a good 

 thing. — F. K. M., in Country Gentleman. 



PRINTED AT THE STEAM PRESS E8TAUUSBMENT OF COPP, CLARK k CO., COLBOR»£ STREET, TORONTO. 



