1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



79 



perature costs barely more than to let the Are 

 die out in cold weather. It takes little more 

 fuel, since once the room and the walls are warm, 

 comparatively little fuel is required to keep it so. 



Double windows are necessary to pre\'ent 

 draft.s of freezinff air from striking the plants in 

 severe weather. These double windows are really 

 an economy in the country, since it pre\'ent^ 

 drafts and enables every part of the room to be 

 kept alike warm. Neither are plants and (lowers 

 unhealthy in li\ intf rooms, as ignorant persons 

 have su pposed. The rever.se is the ease. 



The study of horticulture, as woman's pro\inee, 

 is not all grinding labor. It will lead her thoughts 

 into the realms of chemistry, of botany, of phys- 

 iology, of logic, philosoi>hy and iK)litical economy; 

 of zoolog.v, ornitholog.v and entomology. Two 

 of the brightest of earth's women have become 

 famous in the cognate study of entomology 

 through their love of horticulture. One in the 

 United States is Miss Emily A. Smith, and the 

 other, in England, is Miss (.>merod. 



Ever.\" lady who e.xercises the love of the beau- 

 tiful in the study of horticulture in any of the 

 branches will I'cccive the kindly love of all who 

 have the happiness to know her. Her intluence 

 will be wider spread than she may think. The 

 beautiful garden will, perhaps, inspire some 

 pa.sser-b.v to institute, perha[is in some humble 

 home, the lesson she has learned in passing. The 

 grinding man who witnesses the pleasure that 

 happy children take in playing on the lawn, 

 amtmg the shrubs and tlowers, may lie tempted 

 to place his children upon a higher plane by as- 

 sisting them in preparing something of the kind 

 for themselves. The tired wife will thus get 

 added en.ioyment. The girls will not grow up 

 ho.vdenish, the boys will come to love home and 

 leave the dance-house and the corner grocery for 

 the higher and quieter home pleasures. There 

 will be unity and love, and heli>ful assistance one 

 to another. They will grow up wiser and better, 

 and happier men and women. Hence we shall 

 see that woman in horticulture may become a 

 far-reaching integer, and one of the most power- 

 ful, in the future of a country whose young 

 growth so far has been the wonder of the world. 



Promising Wild Fruits. 



[Bn A. S. Fuller and others before tlie American Poino- 

 logical Society.^ 



Mr. Fuller said in substance that for 

 more than 'M) years immigrants from Eur- 

 ope brought the varieties of Grapes with 

 which they were acquainted, not doubting 

 but that they would succeed. For ages our 

 native species were neglected, and it is now 

 but barely .50 years since we have awakened 

 to the fact that the latter possesses merits 

 worthy of our attention. We no longer 

 .seek foreign Grapes. It is true there is yet 

 room for improvement in our native Grapes, 

 but they have passed that stage which we 

 call merely "promising." Our best sorts 

 come from wild stock and any trace of 

 foreign blood is looked upon with distrust. 



The Raspberry was cited as another instance 

 of a valuable fruit in which the native kinds are 

 driving all foreign sorts from the market. Time 

 was when none of the natives were considered 

 worthy of a place in our catalogues; they were 

 not thought good enough for the table. Now 

 they are the hardiest and most reliable sorts we 

 have. In 18.52 this society cat^ilogued only four 

 Itasptjeriies, all foreign. No native red sort had 

 been heard of. In l»(i2 only seven were on the 

 list, all foreign. As late as 1S6H no one suggested 

 a native red berry; but in IIW.5 out of 30 varieties 

 '-■atalogued 2.5 were native. It is now evident 

 that we have no further use for foreign Rasp- 

 beiTies, and even those of our natives contain- 

 ing foreign blood are apt to be regarded as deli- 

 cate and of doubtful value. 



Then as to.Strawberries, we made no progress 

 until we began to build on the wild stfick. Also 

 the Blackberry: our nati\'e Blackberries seem to 

 be turned out in a very perfect state and we 

 have only to select the best varieties from the 

 woods, and yet there is rf)om for improvement. 

 All this warrants further trial by selection and 

 the crossing ot other native fruits. 



Speaking of the June-borry, or Service-berry, 

 {Amdanchicr Vaiiadeiisii'), he said the typical 

 form of the plant is a tjill tree :J0 or 40 feet high, 

 and from that all the way down to the small 

 shrubs which now produce our t)est fruit. He 

 suggested that this species be hybridized with 

 the Apple or other tree fruits. This does not 



seem impossible: somebody must tr.v it, that's all. 

 The Amelanchier belongs to the Apple family, 

 and the blossoms are similar. 



The Missouri Currant is another wild fruit 

 which should be cultivated and improved. Ast<j 

 (looseberries, the foreign sorts cannfit be de- 

 pended upon. We must use our native varieties, 

 although they are not so good in flavor. So far 

 the wild species has been much neglected. 



Then there is the Huckleberry. The idea that 

 it will not thrive in any ordinary garden soil is 

 an erroneous one. He had grown the High-bush 

 Huckleberry for 20 yeai*s, and had found no 

 difficulty whatever. It is as easy to transplant 

 as the Kose. All you have tc> do is to cut it back 

 well and see that the roots don't get dry. Ber- 

 ries half an inch in diameter are produced by 

 selecting the best plants, and good culture 

 might secure an improved form of this one of 

 the most popular and best of our wild fruits. 



The Persimmon, especially the larger kinds, 

 should be placed very near, if not at the very 

 head of the list. There are many excellent wild 

 varieties. Persons who are at all familiar with 

 it will become pleased with the taste. The re- 

 cent Japanese varieties are far superior to the 

 European Plum in flavor, but they are not hardy 

 north of Washington. Northern pomologists 

 should cross or hybridize these with our native 

 sorts and seek to combine the hardiness of the 

 latter with the deUcate quality and larger size of 

 the Asiatic species. 



The wild Plum is well on the way to become 

 one of the most valuable native fruits. Several 

 varieties now in cultivation give hope of some- 

 thing still better in the future. We now culti- 

 \ate only the foreign Cherry and its seedlings; 

 but we have sevei'al native sorts. Two of these 

 have inflorescense similar to the foreign Cher- 

 ries, making it possible to cross the two. The 

 dwarf is the most promising, but too poor in 

 flavor in its wild state to warrant cultivation. 



The Paw-paw for large size, productiveness 

 and luxuriant growth of tree is likely to become 

 one of our most valuable fruits. The flavor of 

 the wild species should be improved. There are 

 se\eral kinds affording chance for experiment; 

 but as they do not bear early it will require some 

 time to reach definite results. 



Mr. Barry inquired whether the improved 

 American Raspberries did not contain some for- 

 eign blood. Mr. Fuller had been unable to find 

 any in them. President Berckmans spoke high- 

 ly ot the Cuthbert. " Its advent in the South 

 marked a new era in Raspberry growing there," 

 said he. Some member having alluded to the 

 difficulty of transplanting certain wild fruits, 

 Mr. Puller replied: " I have yet to hear of a sin- 

 gle plant that cannot be transplanted success- 

 fully unless it is the Tuckahoe of the South. 

 The trouble is lack of skill in the operation." 



Mr. Barry spoke of the Raspberry improve- 

 ment in this country. He was glad to know 

 that we had arrived at that state when the pres- 

 ence of any foreign blood could at once be de- 

 tected. Up to the introduction of the Cuthbert 

 it was always necessary to have a foreign vari- 

 ety. The Cuthbert was a great improvement, 

 but for flavor he preferred Brinckle's Orange to 

 all others. But the man who introduced the 

 Cuthbert Raspberry he regarded as a public ben- 

 efactor, though in quality it is not equal to some 

 of our foreign sorts. 



Dr. Hoskins doubted that nearly all our Rasp- 

 berries were true native seedlings. He thought 

 seeds of foreign sorts might have been planted 

 by birds, and that varieties like the Cuthbert 

 may have originated in that way. But Mr. 

 Fuller said it was im]>ossible to deceive skilled 

 bf)tanists in that way; whatever the ordinar.v 

 eye and taste might dictate, the botanist could 

 always detect the slightest trace of foreign blood. 



A Talk About Pistillate or Imperfect 

 Flowering Strawberries. 



[Digcu^sioii be/ore the Ohio State Horticultural So- 

 ciety.] 



Secretary Campbell. — It seems to me that 

 in this age of Strawberry improvement we 

 ought to require that a new variety shall 

 have a perfect blossom (stamens and pistils 

 both present). If it is sufficiently produc- 

 tive, it seems to me a very great advantage. 



Mr. Palmer.— It is very easy to plant Straw- 

 ben-ies so that the pistillate (imperfect) varieties 

 can he fertilized. I plant alternate rows, and the 

 nearer they are, the better. In unfavorable 

 seasons, when we have late frosts, I have dis- 

 covered that the pistillate varieties will stand 



more freezing than the staminate (iiollen bear- 

 ing). I remember one season when I had Sliarp- 

 less that occupied a row all the way across the 

 patch, about ten r<Mls long and three feet in the 

 row, there was a friist the 29th of May, when 

 they were in full bloom. It destroyed the fruit 

 on a great many varieties. The Windsor Chief 

 and Crescent escaped. While we didn't get three 

 quarts from the Sharpless and other staminate 

 varieties, we got a full crop from them. 



Mr. Pierce. — We should go slow in making a 

 requirement of the perfect Strawberry that it 

 have perfect blossoms. 



Secretary Campbell.— My idea was not to ob- 

 ject to anybody planting the pistillate varieties, 

 but for a perfect Strawberry I think it is an ad- 

 vantage to have a perfect blossom; and for new 

 varieties we ought to give the preference to 

 those that are perfect. 



Mr. Pierce.— I think it is an open question 

 whether the i)istillate varieties are any stronger, 

 or will stand frost better than those that furnish 

 pollen in the same blossom. 



President Ohmcr.— The advantage of planting 

 staminate varieties is, that you do not need to 

 take pains in planting to avoid getting them 

 mixed. The pistillate varieties, when distributed 

 among the staminates, it seems to me, will bear 

 the bigger crop. 



Mr. Palmer.— Excessi^•e rains, or continued 

 rains, that continue two or three days, will often 

 destroy the staminate blo.ssoms; and the pistillate 

 varieties seem to stand better than tjtbers. 



Mr. Crawford. — There is another characteristic 

 of the pistillate varieties, which is: you are not 

 under the necessity of growing them in hills. 1 

 don't know a single pistillate variety but what 

 will do well ill matted rows. I have kn(iwn for 

 years that the pistillate varieties are the more 

 reliable. The Crescent Seedling is the most re- 

 liable of berries. 



Secretary Campbell.— There is still one other 

 fact in regard to this pistillate Strawben'y ques- 

 tion: many, and doubtless most of them do, have 

 some pollen. If you examine the blossoms of the 

 so-called pistillate varieties, you will find that 

 around the base of the pistil there are short fila- 

 ments and some stamens; and I have no doubt 

 that many of them do partially, and some per- 

 fectly, fertilize. A good many peraons have told 

 me that they have had so-called pistillate varie- 

 ties bear good crops, with staminates nowhere 

 near them. I am quite sure they often do have 

 stamens enough to fertilize and bear fruit. 



Mr. Farnsworth.— I know at least two instances 

 in our county where I have proof that the Cres- 

 cent produced good crops without any other 

 variety near it. 



Mr. Weltz.— Mr. Campbell is perfectly right in 

 my opinion. The Strawberry belongs to the 

 famil.v of Rosacea'; there is no doubt that a 

 number of Strawberries known as pistillate have 

 some flowers in which the stamens do not come 

 to perfection, while others have stamens sufficient 

 to fertilize the berry. I have experimented con- 

 siderable, and it is so with the Crescent. I have 

 them planted by themselves, just for the purpose 

 of testing it; and I have found that If you give 

 the Crescent a little poorer soil it impregnates 

 itself. And I am quite satisfied that by starring 

 it sometimes, or under other circumstances, the 

 so-called pistillate Strawberry can be made to 

 fertilize itself. 



Prof. Lazenby.— The subject has been for some 

 years an interesting one to me, and at our Station 

 we have conducted some experiments, not so 

 much with reference to this particular fact, 

 though we have reached some data that bear 

 upon it. For instance, two years in succession 

 we covered quite a large number of pistillate 

 varieties of Strawberries so we were sure they 

 did not receive pollen from other sources. In 

 every case they failed to produce any berries, 

 although the plants were thrifty; and the plants 

 under the same conditions that were fertilized 

 by the pollen from outside bore an abundance 

 of fruit. It seems, as Mr. Campbell says, that 

 partially abortive stamens are found in many of 

 the blossoms. We tested them for two seasons. 

 The experiments were conducted with a good 

 deal of care; and a good many different plants 

 showed that the pistillate varieties, those that we 

 recognize as pistillate, where pollen was kept 

 away, did not produce any fruit. There is one 

 I»oint in this discussion I think we should remem- 

 ber. We all know that a cross in Nature is gen- 

 erally productive of health, and vigor and fruit- 

 fulness. Now the advantage, it always seemed 

 to me, that a pistillate variety has, is that it 

 always secures a crossing. I do not mean by 

 this that varieties that bear perfect flowers are 



