POPULAR GARDENING 



AND FRUIT GROWING. 



"ACCUSE NOT NATURE, SHE HATB DONE HER PART; DO TBOU BUT THINE."— Kiltos. 



Vol. III. 



IDECTBlidlBEia, 18 87. 



No. 3. 



Announced by all the trumpets of the sky, 

 Arrives the snow, and. driving o'er the fields, 

 Seems nowhere to alight. . . The housemates sit 

 A-round the ra<llant flre-place, enclosed 

 In a tumultous privacy of atorm.—Eni^rmn. 



Potted uusheis of any of the spring-flowering 

 shrubs force readily to bloom in the winter. 



To REMOVE the old wood from the Haspberries 

 when the ground is frozen, a good way is Ui gl\e 

 a quick jerk which will usually break them off at 

 the top of the ground. 



The late exhibetion of Apples and Pears at 

 Edinburgh, Scotland, appears to have been one 

 of great interest. Scotland contributed 8,000 

 dishes, of which 1,000 were Pears. England sent 

 4,000 dishes of Apples and Pears. Ireland con- 

 tributed 569, and Nova Scotia a magnificent col- 

 lection of Apples. 



The capacity of any Lettuce forcing space can 

 nearly be doubled by a proper use of small pots 

 for bringinj? on an extra lot of plants. How this 

 may be done is as follows: About two weeks 

 after the space is planted to the first crop in the 

 fall, enough plants to refill the space should be 

 potted into 2J4 inch pots and be grown on in these. 

 The.v may stand pretty well crowded, thus occu- 

 pying but little space, right up to the time of re- 

 moving the first planting, when the pot plants 

 should take their place in the benches, refilling 

 the pots again from young plants, the seed of 

 which was sown about the time of the pre\'ious 

 planting. The method may be kept up through- 

 out the wmter. Each fresh planting of the bed 

 should be preceded by a dressing of guano or 

 other fine manure over the soil. 



A co-OPERATrvE movement has recently been 

 established which gives promise of effecting some 

 improvements greatly needed by the people who 

 reside especially outside of the large towns. It 

 is called the United States Postal Improvement 

 Association. Its more direct objects are to secure 

 reduced postage on seeds, plants, etc., the reissue 

 of fractional currency for use in the mails, the 

 abolition of postal notes, the issue of money or- 

 ders under $5 for three cents, and the repeal of 

 the law against printed addresses on wrappers. 

 The president is W. P. Nixon of the Chicago 

 Inter Ocean. Among the vice presidents are 

 F. G. Pratt, one of the publishers of the Youth's 

 Companion; Mortimer Whitehead, lecturer of the 

 National Grange: C. W. Macune of Texas, presi- 

 dent of the Farmers' Alliance; and E. G. Hill of 

 Indiana, president of the Society of American 

 Florists. The treasurer is James Viek, the well 

 known seedsman of Rochester, N. Y. We would 

 be glad ^o see the reforms referred to effected, 

 and shall hold our columns open for giving what- 

 ever assistance we can to the work taken in hand. 



Cheaper Horticultural Postage; A 

 Great Opportunity. 



The third annual report of Postmaster- 

 General Vilas is at the date of this writiBg 

 nearly ready for publication. It will con- 

 tain among other things the novel intelli- 

 gence that for the first time in the history 

 of the country the postal service is self- 

 sustaining. 



Such a showing is the more gratifying in 

 view of the fact that within the past three 

 years the change of the unit of weight on 

 letters and other first-class matter from a 

 half ounce to an ounce went into effect, and 

 also a reduction in rates on second-class 

 matter. What stronger evidence could be 

 wanted to show that cheap postage is a 



great success in this country. It has lead 

 to such an increase in the postal business 

 that whereas under the former higher rates, 

 even as recently as ISS.'i, the department 

 showed a deficiency as high as $7,000,000 

 per annum, now with the substitution of 

 cheaper postage no deficiency appears. 



The present time therefore is incompar- 

 ably favorable for gaining the long sought 

 end of a decided reduction in postal rates on 

 horticultural matter. We trust that the 

 committees of both the American Seeds- 

 men's Association and the American Nur- 

 serymen's Association, appointed for the 

 purpose of bringing the matter before the 

 coming Congress, will make the best of 

 their opportunity. At the time of their ap- 

 pointment this last solid argument in favor 

 of general reductions had not yet mani- 

 fested itself; now that it is a verity, it must 

 be used to its utmost worth. 



Nor should that other strong argument, 

 namely, the benefits to the people at large 

 by reduced postage on horticultural matter 

 be under-estimated. An Improved horti- 

 culture, such as must follow on the wider 

 dissemination of seeds, roots, cuttings, 

 scions, etc., attending a material reduction 

 of postal rates, would prove to be one of the 

 greatest boons conferred on the American 

 people. It would mean pleasanter homes 

 for the average residents of the town and 

 country as improved by the setting out in 

 greatly increased numbers the then cheaper 

 plants and trees for use, for beauty and for 

 shade. It would mean more and better 

 fruit and vegetables as a diet for the 

 masses, not only in the country, but in every 

 town and city as well. A reduction of 

 one-half on postal rates on such matter 

 would be equal to an increase by millions 

 every year in the planting of young trees, 

 vines and shrubs throughout the length 

 and breadth of our country, adding to the 

 forest as well as the ornamental features of 

 the land, and through both shedding a 

 benign influence on the comfort, health and 

 happiness of the people. 



Not only must a reduction be sought for 

 in the matter of postage on horticultural 

 products, but a change for the lower should 

 be aslced on the rate of transmitting money 

 by the postal service. Now it costs an extra 

 fee of ten cents to have a letter registered: 

 this should be reduced by at least one half. 

 Even at that the rate would be no lower 

 than the Canadian Government has granted 

 to her people for some time past. It should be 

 possible in the face of the present favorable 

 state of our postal affairs to do at least as 

 well and really much better than our enter- 

 prising neighbor has done. 



Horticultural Notes by Judge Samuel 

 Miller, of Bluffton, Mo. 



New Grapes. Among the new varieties 

 I notice one important one not often enough 

 mentioned. Moore's Diamond has fniited 

 with me three years, and is so superior to 

 any other white Grape we have that such 

 others are left in the shade in point of 

 quality. While the Niagara, Pocklington 

 and Empire State are fully what is claimed 

 for them, the Diamond is equal to any of 

 them in size of bunch and nearly so in berry; 



the vine of the hardiest kind, vigorous and 

 healthy, very productive, and in quality 40 

 per cent better than either. It is the coming 

 light Grape, or is rather here to stay. 



Keeping Fruit to the Second Year. I 

 send you an Apple of 188t> which has been m 

 an open box in my celler that has been kept 

 by a simple inexpensive process. They were 

 sent to me, near two months ago, and since 

 out of their proper element seem to keep 

 about as weU as mine here of 1887. I believe 

 in the thing, and if we can keep Apples, 

 Pears and Grapes over the year without ice, 

 it will be a good thing. A good cave or 

 cellar is necessary, the rest is simple, easy 

 and not much expense. It is not patented, 

 but all who procure a right are bound by a 

 bond of secrecy. 



Clearing Land for Fruit Raising. It 

 is a common practice in most places to cut 

 down the large trees, leaving the stumps 

 stand, and burning the leaves. This is not 

 the proper plan however, and will not hold 

 out in the way of convenience and utility 

 afterwards. No leaves should be burned, 

 but they should be carefully saved and 

 ploughed under. But all the brush and small 

 chips, as well as the stumps should be burnt 

 and the ashes evenly spread over the ground. 

 To burn the leaves much of the fertilizing 

 material goes off in smoke, while if covered 

 with soil it is all retained. Here when we 

 clear new land the common price is 1.30 per 

 acre, and 3.5 cents for each additional tree a 

 foot or more in diameter at the base. But 

 then the trees are all grubbed out by the 

 roots to a depth of 18 or '20 inches; then 

 plowed and subsoiled to that depth. Come 

 will say that this would make expensive 

 land, but let me give an instance of the 

 result of such work. 



A Profitable Vineyard on New Land. 

 A friend of mine near Hermann, Mo., was 

 clearing a three-acre piece, when I asked 

 him what he intended planting on it? He 

 said Martha Grape-vines, and said I should 

 visit the place in a few years. In their fourth 

 year I did visit that Martha vineyard, in the 

 beginning of September, and I never in my 

 fifty year's observations saw anything like it. 

 The vines had made a good growth and 

 had an enormous crop of splendid bunches 

 as clean and bright as a new pin. Now said 

 the owner, who was in great glee, come and 

 I will show you my patch of Martha cuttings 

 taken from these same vines. He had some 

 fifteen or twenty thousand I supposed.which 

 at that time sold for $1 per root. Turning 

 to me, he remarked; "You raised that Grape, 

 Mr. Miller, but I will make more money out 

 of it than you will." He told the truth then. 

 Three months after that on meeting him 

 again I asked him what he made out of the 

 Grapes. He said *l,.5ti0, and that he sold 

 the young plants for *1,.tOO more. Here 

 was ^^,000 from three acres in one year, 

 prepared as above stated. This shows 

 what can be done when the proper pre- 

 parations are made. I have known vine- 

 yards here prepared in the same way that 

 have born good crops (not excepted) for 

 twelve years, without a handful of any kind 

 of fertilizer, except the leaves of the vines 

 and the cuttings cut fine and plowed in. 



Crops in Vineyards and Orchards. It 

 is a common thing to cultivate crops in a 



