54 



POPULAR GARDENING'. 



December, 



BSHT'rr SOCIETIES 



J^einuMatteRTHat Deserves 



TO SEWIDBrvKMOWH^ 



Shonid be Spelled Keiffer. 

 A disciis.si(»n uoiicerninj? 

 this Pear, hy the American 

 Ponifilogieal Soeicty re- 

 cently, brought out a state- 

 ment that the originator 

 said he spelled it "Kei— " 

 but pronounced if'Keffer." 

 Ahead in one Hespect. Mr. Ohmer, in one of 

 his recent talks, referred to the fact that the 

 Peach blossom is surrf)uuded by a little cup, 

 which so protects the ovary that it will stand 

 more bad weather than other fruits. 



The Coat was Too Light. I had occasion to 

 transplant about 200 Raspberry plants last fall, 

 and to save loss I laid them down and covered 

 them, as recommended by some growers, with 

 soil, but the rain washed off considerable of the 

 cover, and the freezing and thawing has thrown 

 out many of the plants, so I was obliged to pull 

 up some and cover the rest over again, whUe 

 some which I covered with old straw are in the 

 best condition.— 0. rr. Ahlricli. 



Flowers in Alaska, It is not all snow and ice 

 in Alaslsa. and we found everywhere some 

 flowei-s. On the island upon which Sitka, the 

 capital of Alaska, is situated, there are said to be 

 over three hundred kinds of flowers. There is 

 little cultivation of flowers. I think an.v one 

 would be surprised, howe^'er, at the number and 

 beauty of wild flowers growing there. At the 

 foot of Mt. Saint Ellas we plucked some of the 

 most beautiful flowei's.— 3Jr. Sessions hcfiyrc the 

 Columbus (O)iio) Society. 



Flantin gin School Yards^ At the last meeting 

 of the Western New York Horticultural Society 

 It was resolved that the Society specially and 

 earnestly recommend to aU our colleges, acad- 

 emies, and aU other institutions of learning 

 which own grounds, to plant and protect in 

 growth on these grounds as man.v different 

 species as may be practicable, both for the orna- 

 ment and shade they will afford, and for the aid 

 they will render in gi\-lng lessons to the students 

 on their distinctive character and value; and 

 that instructors be required to study these char- 

 acteristics, not only for their own benefit, but 

 for imparting this knowledge to the young. 



Pointed Bemarks on Flowers, lor brilliant 

 hues, and for a constant succession of blossoms, 

 no annuals can excel the Petunia and the Phlox. 

 They arc healthy, robust plants, that are success- 

 ful with amateurs. Asters are desirable, because 

 they come into bloom after the greater share of 

 garden flowei-s have passed their prime. Tulips 

 are a riot of colors, and no counter spread with 

 velvets ever showed so soft and lustrous as 

 a bed of Pansies. While Prairie Roses and Multi- 

 floras have all failed me, old-fashioned French 

 Boursalts yields neither to winter's cold nor 

 summer's drought. In house plauts a few choice 

 specimens are better than numberless poor ones. 

 —Mix. Lihon before the Wixcnmin State Society. 

 Lessons from the Drought. Among the les- 

 sons taught us again this year, and taught with 

 renewed emphasis, are greater variety of crops, 

 deep plcnving, frequent cultivation, not too deep, 

 cultivation of all orchard trees, and something 

 as to rotation of crops. Mr. Murray's cultivated 

 orchard of seven acres holds its place at the front 

 with one thousand to twelve hundred bushels of 

 Apples, while orchai-ds not cultivated have 

 siarcely any. In his nur.sery may be seen tens 

 of thousands of grafts, thousands of Evergreens, 

 and Hoses of forty varieties, that show wliat has 

 been done with a nursery on our soil, and that 

 too, in the worst of all diy jears, by intelligent, 

 earnest work. Two-thirds of his sixty thousand 

 Celery plants have been nursed through the 

 drought, and are now likely to make the best of 

 Celery for market.— Pio/ii Missouri Heiiovt. 



A Horticultural Picnic given by the Wai-saw 

 (111.) Horticultural Society in August last is thus 

 referred to by one who attended : " Fully a 

 thousand people were present, including farmers, 

 fruit growers, and many of the best citizens of 

 this section. A tabic of fine fruits was on ex- 

 hibition, consisting cliiefly of Apples, Grajics and 

 Plums. A beautiful feature was a large collec- 

 tion of flowei-s, arranged in the form of a rustic 

 garden, wliich caused many exclamations of 

 surprise and pleasure from all visitors. But the 

 chief pleasures of the day were social. At 11 

 o'clock the assemblage was called to order by 



President Dennis, and after prayer Rev. H. R. 

 Trickett addressed the assemblage upon the 

 social problems of the day. He urged more in- 

 telhgent labor, and the better education of 

 farmers' sons and daughters, both literary and 

 technical, that they may more properly fill aU 

 the duties of life. After the noonday feast the 

 society was called to order, and a number of in- 

 teresting papers and essays were read and dis- 

 cussed. The Warsaw band discoursed good 

 music at intervals, and the exercises were further 

 enlivened by a song from the M. E. Church choir. 

 Altogether it was a very pleasant and profitable 

 day, and our society hopes to have many more 

 such annual gatherings." 



On Black Walnut Culture. Before the Ontario 

 Fruit Growers'Association, recently. Prof. Brown 

 read a paper on the Walnut and Larch grown <m 

 the Model Farm, S.50 feet above Lake Ontario. 

 Trees of Walnuts planted in 1883 now measured 

 tweh"e inches in circumference at the base. He 

 said that trees four to six inches in circumference 

 were worth a good deal for various purposes. 

 He planted the trees seven feet apart each way, 

 and thinned them out occasionally as they grew 

 larger. He made an estimate showing that an 

 acre of Walnuts would realize S1S,.350 in fifty 

 yeai-s, being a mean annual income of S3£2. Mr. 

 Beall, who has considerable experience in grow- 

 ing Walnuts, said that this sum was a low 

 estimate. He once calculated the revenue 

 obtained from a 100-acre farm, one Walnut tree 

 being planted in each fence corner, and his esti- 

 mate was greater than that of Prof. Brown. He 

 said he successfully grew Black Raspbenies six 

 feet from the trees, and Apples twenty feet 

 distant also flouiished. Some speakers gave it as 

 their experience that Walnut trees destroyed 

 vegetation for some distance. Mr. Beall replied 

 that this depended largely on the character of 

 the soil. In his deep. clay the tap root went 

 straight down, and was as thick as th ■ tree three 

 feet below the ground. Dr. Burges;- said a tap 

 root grew straight down in a loamy soil, and 

 in this ad.iacent vegetation did not suffer much 

 from the spreading roots. 



The Summer Propagation of Roses. 



[Abstract of paper read before the Soeicli/ of Anter^ 

 ican Florists by Presideiit-elect E. G. Hill.] 



It is a question whether plants propagated 

 in winter are not really preferable to those 

 rootetl in summer. I should much prefer 

 one rooted in December which has been 

 kept growing to one rooted six months earlier 

 but afterward allowed to eke out a misera- 

 ble existence in a thumb pot. 



Many western firms resort to the frame method 

 of summer pi-opagation and generally with good 

 results, although the most expert will at times 

 suffer defeat ^vith the finest crop of cuttings. 



The Frame Method For the frame take two 

 twelve-inch boai-ds for the back and an eighteen- 

 inch one for the front, making it as nearly air 

 tight as possible to prevent a too free ingress of 

 hot air injuring the cuttings; many persons use 

 strips of cloth or other packing on the edges of 

 the frame so that the sash may have an even 

 bearing to make the frame quite tight. 



Ordlnar.v hot-bed sash are used and the frame 

 set to face the north. About four feet above 

 the frame make a light strip framework for sup- 

 porting a canvas shade; this height allows a man 

 to work under it, or to move the sash, with some 

 degree of ease. Light muslin is the best canvas 

 for shading; attach a roller and it is easy to shade 

 when necessary. 



The Bed. Use from ten to fifteen inches of 

 fermenting material according to condition. 

 Wc prefer the sweepings of horee stables, reject- 

 ing any fungus-producing materiixl like chips 

 or saw dust. Pack the material firmly, and upon 

 this place a coat of air-slaked bme; sometimes 

 several inches of fine cinders from a raib'oad lo- 

 comotive is used on the manure to keep the 

 sand from contact with it. The sand thus re- 

 mains sweet much longer. 



Use only the best and cleanest of sand; a depth 

 of three inches is usual; tramp this solid befsire 

 inserting the cuttings and let the frame stand 

 open from a) to 18 hours before using, allowing 

 the .steam and intense heat to pass off. 



Ventilatiiiu. Some do not air, but after 1.5 

 years practice we open our sashes from six to 

 eight inches both morning and evening and for 

 15 to ai minutes each time. 



fVatcrinu. Water thoroughly at the start and 

 see that the sand is settled evenly and closely 

 about the cuttings. For after waterings we use 



the liand syringe once a day or oftener; on rainy 

 days this may be omitted; the can will seldom 

 be necessary after the first day, if the syringing 

 is properly attended to. 



Notes. Fungoid growths are the ever-present 

 enemy to summer propagation. Go over the 

 cuttings every day or two and pick out any de- 

 cayed stems or leaflets. As fungus usually ap- 

 pears next to the boards, these should have a 

 thorough coat of lime wash. Frames lined with 

 galvanized iron are desirable. 



Cuttings. Our wood is grown under glass, and 

 must be fine and healthy. Spidered wood or 

 gro^vth affected with mildew, always bring 

 trouble in dropping leaves or black wood. We 

 propagate all classes thus, but find the mosses 

 are the most difficult. Many nui'serymen succeed 

 with outdoor wood, but this requires a large 

 plantation from which to select. 



Shmliny. Muslin on rollers affords the readiest 

 method, and this is of prime importance for afford- 

 ing all the Ught possible for as many hours as pos- 

 sible, especially on cloudy da.vs; it is an absolute 

 necessity if the sand is to be kept pure and the 

 cuttings healthy. The ever blooming classes 

 will root in from 18 to 30 days, according to 

 condition. Hybrids, Mosses and some climbing 

 Teas require a longer time, especially if of hea\'y 

 growth or a little mature. 



Summer Propagating in the Greenhouse. 

 This requires more care than winter or early 

 spring propagation. A slate bottom, and the 

 entire absence of wood in any shape on a bed for 

 summer cuttings is best. An inch of clean 

 sphagnum on the slate affords drainage; upon 

 this place sand, and pack and water the cuttings 

 the same as in the frame method. For shade, a 

 better plan than light muslin tacked on the bars 

 is to use large sheets of brown paper immedi- 

 ately on the cuttings, keeping this continually 

 moistened. Any neglect in the watering will re- 

 sult disastrously. 



Experience has shown that clean, health.v wood, 

 taken when the flower bud is about to expand. Is 

 the best tor use; this kept from wilting will gen- 

 erally root, while cuttings taken below this are 

 often uncertain in summer. 



The requisites of success are: A clean green- 

 house, where the air is absolutely pure; clean 

 sand; the free use of the watering can or syringe 

 — even then certain varieties still insist on yel- 

 lowing, when we may saj' good bye to the cut- 

 tings. Hybrids and Mosses are uncertain here, 

 and most of them insist on a permanent leave of 

 absence after being cared for and treated as .ten- 

 derly as we may. 



(To be concluded next month.) 



Ornamentation of School Yards. 



[By C. C. Bell, before .Vissonri .•Stale Borticulturat 

 .Society,'] 



There were enrolled in the public schools 

 of Missouri in 1881, 723,484 pupils; in 1885 

 there were 80.5,313, showing an increase in 

 four years of 81,839. In 1881 there were em- 

 ployed in this State 11.65ti teachers; in 1885 

 over '.30,000. Fifteen years ago there was no 

 such a thing as a Normal school in the 

 State; to-day we have three. But whUe we 

 have wonderfully advanced in many direc- 

 tions, yet we tiud much needed knowledge 

 of genuine value neglected. I refer to a 

 practical knowledge of horticulture and the 

 ornamentation of home, public, and especi- 

 ally school grounds. 



It is needless to demonstrate the refining and 

 elevating influence ornamental horticulture im- 

 parts, together with the healthful exercise and 

 pleasure it gives. That this is true is seen in the 

 fact that some of our gi'eatest minds find pleas- 

 ure, recreation and rest in rural pursuits. 



It is therefore of great importance that the 

 young minds receive some earl.v training in this 

 direction, to assist in accomplishing which much 

 may be done in our school .yards, though as a 

 rule we find them utterly neglected, and often 

 in a wretched disorder Too often here that 

 which twenty-five years ago was adorned with 

 Nature's forests has even been robbed of this, 

 and to-da.y no traces of ornamentation are risible, 

 not even the planting of a shrub. The educa- 

 tional training is wholly confined ivithin the 

 school-house, and yet the school yard seems to 

 suggest so much of practical and useful learning. 



Several yeai-s ago, while in Europe, I could but 

 notice that whUe we, as a nation, excel the old 

 world in much practical machiner.v and in new 

 ideas, yet in this direction we would do weU to 



