76 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



January, 



Who is Unfaithful? 



If man could rule, his love of change would mar 



The purple dignity that wraps the hills; 

 Train the gnarled Apple-tree more stralghtly up; 



Lift Violet's head, so long and meekly bowed: 

 With some new odor till her pui'ple cup. 



And gUd the rosy fringes of a cloud. 

 We are unfaithful. Only God is true 



To hold secure the landmarks of the past; 

 To paint year after year the Hare-beU blue 



And in the same sweet mold its shape to cast. 

 O, steadfast Nature, let us learn of thee ! 



Thou canst create a new flower at thy will, 

 And yet, tiirough all the years canst faithful be 



To the sweet pattern of a Daffodil. 



—The Cosmopolitan, 



There is no unbelief. 

 Whoever plants a seed beneath the sod 

 And waits to see it push away the clod. 



He tl'usts in God. 

 Whoever sees 'neatii winter's field of snow 

 The silent harvest of the future grow, 



God's power must linow. 



The clouds may hang too low, too low. 

 The ice-bound streams refuse to sing; 

 The cold, bleak blasts may bitter blow. 

 And Nature's pulse refuse to flow — 

 But, true as Truth, at last comes Spring ! 



—Wakeman. 



Again increased in size. 

 Trees are God's architecture. 

 Verbenas are poor house plants. 

 Tomato shoots will graft on those of the Potato. 

 Linnaeus believed the Nasturtium to be electric. 

 Let us see Sweet William more to the front 

 again. 



The "'extraordinary" in new plants is too often 

 a fraud. 



For a midsummer blooming tree choose Koel- 

 reuteria. 



If you don't see the information you want 

 ask for it. 



Five subscribers sent in secures your own 

 paper free. 



Caboages if not in contact with soil need some 

 ventilation. 



If only the large red Pajony were a new flower, 

 what a sensation it would create. 



Vegetables stored in laige unbroken bulks are 

 liable to ferment to their injury. 



Tbe great advantage of small fruits; plant this 

 year and you have a crop next year. 



Gladioluses have been bloomed in the house 

 in winter by planting the bulbs in July. 



Appropriate. In several instance of late young 

 ladles have acted as judges at flower shows. 



Don't allow 1I4W to pass around without adding 

 numerous choice shrubs and vines to the home 

 embellishments. 



Hyacintb bulbs started in moist sand may be 

 transferred to and do weU in hanging baskets of 

 moss in the window. 



Tile Popular Gardening tree should make its 

 best growth just at this season. WUl you do what 

 you can to stimulate it '/ 



The Hardiest fihododeudron, according to the 

 authority of S. B. Parsons, is K. grandiflorum. 

 next is Speciosum uuduubtedly. 



A Floral Salt. A remarkable property of the 

 Ice Plant is its absorption of salt, its leaves 

 having been found to contain 33 per cent of salt. 



Nature's Combinations. A writer grows very 

 enthusiastic over the charming combination of a 

 Virginian Creeper in its crimson autumu effects 

 as it runs over a Ked Cedar evergreen. 



Covering -with Turf. A Canadian reader covers 

 his Kaspberry plants with sods placed over their 

 tips, and this reminds us that the same cover is 

 unequaled for umuy low bushes and plants. 



A good New Year's resolve for every subscrib- 

 er: To send at least one item of horticultural 

 interest, one new subscriber, and your own re- 

 newal to this paper at some time during 1688. 



Paper for Protection. In extremely cold 

 nights a cover of newspapers over the plants, 

 whether in the dwelling, the forcing pit or the 

 greenhouse, may be worth its weight in gold. 



It's no wonder that boys don't want to stick to 

 fruitless and flowerless farms. Get them inter- 

 ested in gardening and fruit growing for profit 

 and pastime and there'U be far less trouble here. 



Because an agent carries bottled fruit speci- 

 mens it does not follow that the trees he would 

 send will bear of the same. If you buy of agents 

 be sure the agent is right before you go ahead. 



American Hyacinths. An exchange reports 

 that a florist in Washington Territory proved 

 that Hyacinths can be grown there, producing in 

 two years better bulbs than can be grown in Hol- 

 land with longer cultivation. 



The Chinese Quince is gaining in the Southern 

 States. A Florida coiTespondent says of it that 

 while its quality is not equal to other Quinces, in 

 productiveness for the Southern climate it ex- 

 cels all others, perhaps as ten to one. 



We are counting on every reader to help en- 

 large our subscription list by sending in one or 

 more new subscribers. No better month for the 

 work than the present one. Lots of room in this 

 broad country for such missionary work. 



Device for Sowing Seeds. Take a bottle and 

 cut say three gi'ooves of different sizes in the side 

 of the cork, and have a plug to each groove. In 

 sowing use a groove adapted to the size of the 

 seed, (in the bottle) having the others closed. 



A "Bare" Tree is what the Weeping Beech 

 is called in a nurseryman's catalogue. If rare it 

 is not because it is new, for it is at least upwards 

 ol 75 years old. By far too many other choice 

 old ornamental trees and shi'ubs might similarly 

 be spoken of as being rare — too rare. 



European Sparrows. Like persons who are 

 bold, forward, and self-assertive in their man- 

 ners, these bli'ds are cowards. Bang away at 

 them with a shot gun a score or less of times and 

 you can frighten them from your place. But 

 your neighbors may not thank you.— iJifl Boy. 



Flower Farming. A French flower fai-m of 

 about seventeen acres was planted with 45,000 

 tufts of Violets and 140,000 roots of the white 

 Jasmine, with Koses, Pelargoniums, Tuberoses, 

 and Jonquils. A laboratory was erected for the 

 manuiacture of perfumes, and in the fourth 

 year after planting lucrative results were had. 



Pot With Perforated &im. Instead of using a 

 training wire, as described on page ai, for tying 

 the branches of pot plants too, I have for years 

 had my potter perforate some pots in their rims 

 before the baking process, and in these holes I 

 have attached the strings for tying out the plants. 

 I send a sketch of such a pot.— C/ios. Parker, 

 All^henu Co., Pa. 



Deceptive Measurement. Matthew Crawford, 

 the successful Strawberry raiser, has somewhere 

 said that the Shai'pless has been grown to four- 

 teen inches in circumference— this measurement 

 being obtained by going over every projection of 

 the irregular berry and down into every hollow. 

 If X'egular in form one of such measurement 

 would weigh eight ounces, but none actually 

 went above two ounces. 



South American Orchid Trade. The United 

 States consul at Venezuela says the collection of 

 Orchids and other plants is beginning to be a 

 business in that section, and that in the last six 

 months a declai'ed value of $8,659 was shipped to 

 the United States, in addition to vai'ious lots sent 

 to England. As yet it is impossible to say how 

 far this industry may be extended, as the flora of 

 the forests has never been fuUy investigated. 



Liquid Manures lor Bulbs. Nu. 1.— I have 

 found a good and safe fertilizer for these to con- 

 sist of a quarter of a pound of cow manure 

 mixed in a large garden can of water, applying 

 it twice a week. iVo. li.- A large handful of 

 soot, or about a pint, tied up iu a piece of old 

 can\as and immersed iu the same quantity of 

 water for a day or two, furnishes a safe and ex- 

 cellent stimulant. No. 3. — An ounce of nitrate 

 of soda dissolved in four gallons of water is said 

 to be a quick and good stimulant for bulbs, to be 

 applied twice a week after the pots are filled 

 with roots and flower-spikes are visible. — M. W. 



Proftssor Goodall on Watering. The supply 

 of water to plants through their roots is always 

 m( ire abundant when the soil is in a warm state; 

 hence when plants begin to wilt, mex'e warming 

 the earth around the roots will sometimes cause 

 them to revive. But it must be remembered 

 that roots (except those of aquatics) need air to 

 breathe, and hence they must not be drowned. 



Sometimes the pressure of the juices within the 

 plant is so great that water is forced out through 

 minute rifts. This is often seen in the case of 

 the young leaves of wheat and corn, the drops 

 of water at the tips looking like dew, but plainly 

 coming from within the plant. 



The Gano Apple. Specimens of this new West- 

 ern Apple have been received at this office. They 

 came from the Star Nurseries, Lee Summit, 

 Missouri. They are remarkably attractive in 

 size and appearance being large, of fine form and 

 highly colored. As tor eating qualities this 

 variety possesses a very pleasant flavor, standing 

 in this respect among the best of Apples. It is 

 claimed that it will keep until February and 

 March. We aie not certain as to this, for one of 

 our specimens showed rot by the middle of De- 

 cember and the others hardly promise to keep 

 six weeks longer. Should the tree prove to be as 

 hardy and productive as is claimed, this variety 

 must rank highly among market fruits. 



Some of the Newer Shrubs Josiah Hoopes of 

 West Chester, Pa., mentions the following among 

 the most satisfactory of the newer shrubs, al- 

 though not strictly novelties : Exochorda gran- 

 diflora, Viburnum pUcatum. Weigela Candida, 

 Spirsea callosa. Spiraea crispifolia, Khodotypus 

 kemoides, and the dwarf Japan Maples. The 

 Exochorda, from the north of China, produces 

 large white flowers in May, but is difficult to 

 propagate; Viburnum plicatum is one of the 

 finest of the genus; Weigela Candida is a fine, 

 erect grower, becoming a large shrub, and it pro- 

 duces a profusion of white flowers early in 

 summer; Spir'aja crispifolia is a very small, short 

 shrub, about a foot high, with pink flowers, 

 through summer; Khodotypus has single white 

 flowers late in spring and handsome foliage. 



A Handsome Hardy Chinese Shrub. Reference 

 is had to the Exochorda grandlflora, a near rela- 

 tion of the Spirieas, and about which Mr. Mans- 

 field MUton, of Youngstown, Ohio, sends the 

 following to our columns: From Japan and 

 Northern China comes this most beautiful of 

 shrubs. It is perfectly hardy, neat and compact 

 in habit, and if more plentiful would make an 

 exceUent hedge plant, as it bears cutting or 

 shearing back well and could be kept in any 

 shape desired. The flowers are produced in ra- 

 cemes, the petals pure white, narrow at the base, 

 showing the color as a pure tuft in the centre of 

 the flower, giving it a peculiarly striking appear- 

 ance. The f oUage being of a soft green color, con- 

 trasts finely with the white racemes of flowers. 

 As to soil it is not very particular, succeeding in 

 any kind and also in any situation, 



Sparazis and Other Cape Bulbs. On the culture 

 of Sparaxis, of which an engraving is presented 

 this month, and of other charming bulbous 

 flowers from the Cape of Good Hope, our pleas- 

 ant correspondent, WUliam Falconer, gives the 

 following points: "All of this class, including 

 Sparaxis, Ixias, Freesias, Alliums and Ornithoga- 

 lums should be potted in fall, kept cool till they 

 begin to grow and root well, but never allowed 

 to freeze. Freesias for Christmas should be 

 potted in August; for later, in September and 

 October. Freesias are very satisfactory things 

 and multiply exceedingly. Kefracta alba is the 

 best. Ixias and Sparaxis are very pretty the 

 flrst season; after that they are apt to dwindle. 

 Very few Alliums are worth 

 growing as pot plants. Of 

 Ornithogalums, O. lacteum 

 and O. Arabicum are the best 

 and these are quite showy, 

 and if generously treated do 

 well for veal's." 



A Koof Garden. Many 

 years ago my mother heard 

 a simple minded woman say 

 P0( with Per/orated "tb«t ^^^ '^""''l get ground 

 Rim for tying to. enough for a garden if she 

 only had a place to put it I " 

 A recent call to see a neighbor reminded me 

 of the remark. From her green-room, which 

 was back of the parlors, one could step out on 

 the roof of a one-story building; and this roof in 

 the summer time she had transformed into a 

 fine flower garden. There were a number of 

 large octagonal wooden tubs that measured 

 four or more feet across; these were painted 

 red and were placed far enough apart so that 

 there was plenty of room to walk around; and 

 they were filled with rich soil, and planted 

 with many beautiful plants and vines. The gar- 

 den was easily watered, when necessary, by a 

 hose attached to the hydrant. There was an out- 

 side stairs leading down into the small yard 

 below. Around the edge of the roof was an iron 



