34 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



November, 



FROM 

 THE 



SOCIETIES 



Pein5MatterThat Deserves 



TO BE WIDELY KNOWN. 



Sign of Bichness. As a 

 rule the darker the flesh 

 in fruits generally the 

 higher the flavor. In acid 

 fruits darkness usually in- 

 dicates gi'eater acidity.— 

 Profcasnr Goff. 



They are Marked The 

 whole Ereneration of Rus- 

 sian Apples, so far as tested in this country, can 

 be generally distiugui.shed by their coarse text- 

 ure and lack of spicy aroma.— T'aii Dcman. 



The Variegated Rubber Plant. One plant five 

 feet high, at the September show of the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society, attracted much 

 attention. For ourselves we should prefer the 

 plain green leaved plant. 



What One Variety Can Do That careful 

 observer, P. J. Berckmans, of Atlanta, Ga., now 

 president of the American Pomological Society, 

 says that the introduction of the Cuthbert Rasp- 

 berry has revolutionized Raspberry culture 

 throughout the Southern States. 



Potash and Potash. Mr. A. S. Fuller, in a dis- 

 cussion on fertilizers at the American Pomolog- 

 ical Society, laid stress on the important fact 

 that potash from feldspar is comparatively worth- 

 less, in fact he don't believe it is worth anything 

 as a fertilizer, while that from wood ashes, hav- 

 ing been once throuyh the plants, is valuable. 

 Analysis shows that both are potash, but plants 

 know better than to accept them alike. It is a 

 point worth the attention of aU cultivators who 

 employ artificial manures. 



" Flowers," said Mrs. Marie Rodmyer in a pa- 

 per before the Missouri State Horticultural So- 

 ciety, " have an irresistable way of robbing the 

 housewife's labor of its dull monotony. It is 

 postihle to make the poorest habitation charm- 

 ing by the judicious display of plants and vines 

 about the doors and windows. The love of 

 flowei-s grows with us as we are initiated into the 

 mysteries of their culture and habits, in watch- 

 ing the generation of seeds, and the formation 

 of tiny rootlets to cuttings in sand." 



The Whole Secret. The veteran Samuel Mil- 

 ler, in commenting on the success of a horticul- 

 tural fair lu'lil at lionnnUe, Mo., asks "how has 

 this unpreceilentcd success been accompUshed," 

 and then answers himself thus: " Simply by a 

 few of the right kind of men taking hold of the 

 thing with a noble array of assistants around 

 them. They meet once every three months, 

 which is, perhaps, better than monthly, as the 

 luke-warm members get tired if they have to at- 

 tend too often; while in three months they feel a 

 curiosity again." He thinks the grand success 

 this Society has made should induce other coun- 

 ties to each start a horticultural society. 



A Country Celery Show in England. In a 



Lancashire town, at a Celery show referred to by 

 the London Garden, there was gathered together 

 a remarkably good collection, not only of Celery_ 

 but of Potatoes and Pansies, of Cabbages and 

 Cucumbei-s, of Fuchsias and fruit, vegetables 

 and flowers. But the Celery was decidedly in 

 the ascendant. Behind the winning lots of this 

 latter edible were the copper kettles, or britan- 

 nia-metal teapots, the latter given as second 

 piizes. The winning lot of untrimmed Celery 

 weighed 14 lbs.. i% uzs., and the corresponding 

 victor in the trimmed class 9 lbs. 8^4 ozs. These 

 weight* will give some indication of the size, and 

 from what I could see of the bunches they were 

 tender and beautifully white. Nights and days 

 had been spent in their culture, heaps of manure 

 had been supplied to the ground around them, 

 and doubtless during the week previous to the 

 show the grower had worked by day and set up 

 all night watching his plants against the designs 

 of some vniscrupulous oi'i^ouent. 



Insuring Clean Berry Picking, I have ray 

 rows numbered one, two, three, and so on, uj) to 

 the whole amount. I take a sheet of paper and 

 nail it on a board, and number the lines. My 

 pickers come. I have a little daughter 14 years 

 old who usually does this checking business; 

 beginning with patch No. 1, Lizzie Burns you 

 take patch No. 1; some one else take No. 2, etc. 

 There are all my pickers with the rows num- 

 bered, and the name of the picker to each row. 

 I make it my business to be about, and I look 

 down, and here is a row that isn't picked clean. 

 Who picked No. lOV The record says so and so 



picked No. 10. She comes back and picks the 

 row over again, and loses money while she is 

 picking. They do not like to be laughed at; con- 

 sequently, they are picked very clean, if you 

 bring them back once or twice. Any child that 

 knows numbers and can read and write, can 

 manage a whole picking and keep the patch 

 picked clean, by having a suiteiintendent.- J. P. 

 Ohraer, before Ohio Horticultural Society. 



A Flower Show at the Far North Those 

 communities in more favored sections that are 

 without a horticultiu-al society of their own can 

 look way beyond the northern boundary of the 

 LTnion, and behold a thriving one. We refer 

 to the floral society of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and 

 its work. From the Northwest Farmer of the 

 same place we make the following abstract con- 

 cerning a recent Flower Show held at Winnipeg: 

 " The florists have this year made a spurt, that 

 has left all their former efl:orts quite out of sight. 

 The only regret is that the show was so much a 

 Winnipeg one. Capable growers from Portage 

 and elsewhere ought to have been represented, 

 but in spite of this defect the show was a most 

 gratifs'lng one and every department amply 

 filled up. In the three professional e.\hibits, Mr. 

 Davies' best dozen of plants were in great form 

 —fine trusses, good varieties and well brought 

 out plants. Geraniums were, if anything, the 

 best thing on exhibition. Balsams, excellent. 

 Alston's Gladioli, too, were very pleasing. 

 Fuchsias a good way behind what they ought to 

 be. Roses good, but rather too late in the sea- 

 son. In the competition for 100 stage plants Al- 

 ston had a few rare plants: Euphorbia splendens, 

 12 varieties of Caladium, Libonia floribunda, 

 Crotons, Hibiscus and Plumbago; but Dave.v's 

 Abutilon, three Oleanders, and Ficus elastica 

 were very good, too, and might have stood 

 higher. His grand Antin'hinum was the best 

 bloomed border plant in the room. Cut flowers, 

 in large,varied and excellent display were just in 

 season. Davey's two dozen (twelve varieties) of 

 Asters were a grand lot— the choicest specialty 

 in cut flowers. The amateur collection of cut 

 flowers from bona fide amateui'S must be speci- 

 ally noted, and all the private flower pots seen 

 should be mentioned as showing what pro- 

 gressive amateurs may with a fair amount of 

 care achieve in floriculture. Risk showed the 

 grandest Pansy yet seen in the country. From 

 a very small town plot he showed 31 different 

 lots, netting 19 prizes, of which 14 were first, and 

 his Balsams were better than any shown by the 

 professionals. In wild flowers Hon. C'onsul Tay- 

 lor had things all to himself, coming in first. 



Identification of Varieties of Hardy 

 Orchard Fruits. 



[Abstract of paper by H. E. Van Deman, Pomologist 

 of the Department of Agricuttnre, before the American 

 Pomotogicul Society, Sept. 15.] 



AU classiflcation of natural objects may 

 be said to be only approximately correct 

 and strictly arbitrary. The established rules 

 for such classification are frequently found 

 to be unsuitable. The further we proceed 

 with this classification the more complex 

 and difficult it becomes. It is easier to dis- 

 tinguish and separate the natural orders of 

 plants than the genera and species; and 

 when the subdivisions of species are reached 

 even the most learned doctors disagree. At 

 this critical place and upon this treacherous 

 ground the pomologist is obliged to make 

 his way. 



To be able to recognize every variety of our 

 commonest fruits is utterly impossible, even by 

 the most experienced. However, by carefully 

 studying certain characteristics, and having a 

 vast deal of experience with specimens grown 

 under different conditions of culture, soil, and 

 climate, one may become able to generally deter- 

 mine the names of varieties. To give in a simple 

 way my views of what may be the cardinal points 

 in such identification is the substance of the 

 hope that inspired the present attempt. 



AU will agree that certain characteristics of 

 fruits arc more constant than others; these 

 known and we will have gained one poiut. To 

 my mind, considering all classes, there is no one 

 character so fixed as the form. This will in the 

 main prove true of all kinds, and as well of the 

 immature as the fully developed specimens. 

 Take the Apple or Pear before fully out of bloom 

 and a difference of varieties may be noticed by 

 their elongated, rounded, or irregular forms. 



To some persons all babies are aUke, but not so 

 to the nurse or mother. So of the observant 

 pomologist and his fruit. A Chenango the size 

 of a marble is not the shape of a Rambo, nor 

 would a Vicai' half so large be taken for a Shel- 

 don. Indeed it would not be hard to tell the 

 difference between such marked varieties even 

 before their petals had expanded. A cluster of 

 the compactly formed Elvira Grape could be told 

 from one of Creveling, or even Concord, when 

 only large enough to be observed at all. With 

 growth these peculiar forms enlarge rather than 

 change. Even starvation would not materially 

 alter their shape. Let this then be our main 

 guide in identifying varieties. Of course there 

 are frequent, sometimes radical, variations from 

 the typical forms, occuring from sports of na- 

 ture, or by aecident, such as stings of insects or 

 fungous diseases. 



Another step will be to define the several 

 characteristics of varieties, and place them in 

 their relative positions. To do this, we will take 

 up the several species of hardy orchard fruits in 

 detail, comprising what are usually known as the 

 pomes and drupes. First among these is 



The Apple. Form. Observed from a point 

 perpendicular to its axis, may be round, flat, 

 conical, oblong, or cylindrical; or from either 

 end it may appear round, elUptical, angular, 

 ribbed or scalloped. These latter forms may be 

 called regular when round or nearly so, and 

 irregular when otherwise. Then there are other 

 peculiar forms, such as inclined, as in case of the 

 York Imperial, or unequal, like Cooper and 

 Colvert, in fact, like very many Apples. 



The Basin. The depression almost always 

 found at the blossom end of the Apple, and in 

 which the eye is set, is either wide, narrow, 

 shallow or deep; regular like that of Fall Pippin, 

 waved as we see in Northern Spy, or folded into 

 wrinkles like Yellow Bellflower. In a very few 

 Apples and some of the Crabs it is wanting. 



The cavity is at the opposite or stem end, and 

 is sometimes very deep and narrow, or wide and 

 sloping like Rome Beauty. Pryor's Red and 

 Pewaukee have the carity almost filled. In the 

 case of Swaar, Roman Stem, and a few others, it 

 is marked by a peculiar welt,and said to be lipped. 



The core is equally well marked, and usually 

 conforms closely to the exterior shape of the 

 Apple. Some varieties have very small, compact, 

 or closed cores,while othere, Uke Ortley, are large 

 and open. If the outline meets at the point of 

 the calyx-tube, it is said to be meeting, if other- 

 wise, it is clasping. I have found this to be quite 

 uniform in those of one variety. 



The flesh is perhaps the next character least 

 subject to change. Who does not know the dif- 

 ference in weight between Yellow Newtown and 

 Ben Davis, or the color of the flesh of Fameuse 

 from that of Winesap, or the difference in taste 

 of a rich and spicy Grime's Golden, a melting 

 Primate, or a coarse and acid Oldenberg ? The 

 flesh of an Apple may be said to be coarse, fine, 

 tender, or firm; white or yellow: dry or juicy; 

 and in flavor sweet, sub-acid, or sour, rich or in- 

 sipid. Of course climate and state of maturity 

 have much to do with the flavor, but less as 

 regards color and gi'ain. 



The eye, which is composed of the calyx and 

 the small cavity which is hid by it, is another 

 rehable mark. There is a difference in the width 

 and length of the calyx-tube also. If the sepals 

 form a closed or an open eye in one specimen of 

 a variety, it is a good indication that all othei-s of 

 the same variety are similarly formed. 



Dots on the skin are very likely to be uniform 

 in color, size, and shape on one varietj', except 

 their being smaller and closer to each other to- 

 wards the eye. They are numerous or scattering, 

 large or minute, dark or light, round, elongatei. 

 or star-shaped, and surrounded with light or 

 greeu bases. Although small, these dots are in 

 no wise to be overlooked. 



The Seeds may be numerous or rare, large or 

 small, yellowish, like Hightop, or grey, brown or 

 black. In shape they vary also, from short and 

 plump, to slender and imperfect, as may be found 

 in King of Tompkins. 



The surface is sometimes uneven, lumpy, or 

 pimpled, again it is smooth and glossy, like 

 Wealthy, or wa.xy to the touch. Lowell is often 

 called " Greasy Pippin " from this causa. All 

 grades may be found, from a surface like polished 

 glass, to the rough and rasping coat of the Rus- 

 sets. Color is a striking feature, but it is so often 

 changed by climate, culture, season, sunshine, or 

 shade, that we are apt to be misled by it. 



If reddish stripes are never displayed, but 

 merely a blush, or if no red color appears at all, 

 it is proper to call the variety self-colored. Those 



