1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



91 



the knife about one eighth of an inch from 

 the top of the slope, and with the mallet 

 drive it down, cutting a tongue about one 

 inch and a half long. Then take your graft, 

 /) in the engraving, and slope it off on one 

 side and cut a tongue in It, as in whip- 

 grafting. The outside rough bark, if any, 

 from graft and stock, should be taken off. 

 Insert the graft on one side of the stock to 

 niatch the inner bark exactly on the edge of 

 the tongue. If the stock is large put a 

 graft in on the opposite side also. 



The graft rightly in position push it down 

 as tight as you can without breaking. Then 

 wrap firmly with twine, which will leave 

 the work appearing as in the Figure 0. The 

 soil should be packed tight around the graft 

 (particularly the bottom) by tramping on 

 it carefully and tinuly so as to not move the 

 graft, filling up to the top bud. Then stick 

 a small stake at the graft to mark the place 

 and for tying the young shoots to. 



Let it be remembered always that success 

 in Grape grafting depends : 1st— I7po7) the 

 frcxh cfituJilian and laujth of the grafts. 

 2nd — The sniuiihiexs 0/ the wood and lyiids. 

 'Ar(\—The perfeetinn of work. 



Should the grafts not be as fresh as if 

 just taken off the vines, and of sufficient 

 length, they will dry out and will neither 

 callous, throw out roots, or unite with the 

 stocks. In case the stocks are of a character 

 not admitting of grafting at the proper 

 depth, then graft them higher up and fill 

 and bank up around them to the top bud. 

 This, however, will not be as successful, or 

 the vines as good, as the deep grafted ones, 

 because the union will be less perfect, and 

 the roots too shallow to bear severe winters. 

 With vines that are properly set and culti- 

 vated this fault need never occur. 



In gi'afting small vines, either in the 

 ground or out of it, we whip and tongue 

 graft them in the same manner with grafts 

 of the same length. No attention whatever 

 Is paid to the buds or the size of the grafts 

 except to use the larger scions on the larger 

 stocks. To try to match them on both sides 

 is useless, and time wasted. 



We have in this article given no specula- 

 tive theory, but facts based on many years 

 of experience in grafting all sizes of wood, 



gregate of from 100 to LW feet of wood. 

 These vines are well united, firm and strong 

 almost as before grafted, and will in an- 

 other season or so bear a full crop. 



The stock prepart'd —dotted lines showing the part including surface roots renwred 

 The scion vreimred. c. The union, showing ma7iner of tying, and banking up, at 

 h 



ft. 



loell as the slat 



SUCCESSFUL GRAPE QRAFTING ILLUSTRATED. 



from two inches in length with a single 

 bud, to a foot long with half a dozen buds, 

 and on vines from one to twenty years old. 

 With the conditions faithfully fulfilled, at 

 least 9.5 per cent will grow on either young 

 or old vines. Last year 98 per cent grew, 

 and in very many instances made an ag- 



Tomato Tests in 1887. 



R. W. HARQADINE, KENT CO.. DEL. 



We planted last season on June 1.5th nine 

 varieties of Tomatoes, side by side, solely to 

 test the earliness of the different varieties. 

 The seeds had been sown out-doors in April 

 and the planting management and other 

 conditions were exactly the same. The 

 varieties were Livingston's, New Beauty, 

 Perfection, and Living.ston's Favorite, 

 Cardinal, Optimus. Essex Hybrid, Mikado 

 or Turner Hybrid, Early Market Champion, 

 and E.xtra Early Trophy. The difference 

 was very slight in favor of any one variety 

 as to time of ripening of first specimens, and 

 this difference was in favor of the dark red 

 or purple varieties, such as Essex Hybrid, 

 Mikado and Champion. 



None of the varieties tested can lay any 

 just claim to earliness as market varieties 

 except Extra Early Trophy. While this did 

 not begin to ripen single specimens earlier 

 than most of the other varieties, it did ripen 

 a large crop early in the season and this 

 characteristic gives a Tomato its chief value 

 to the market gardener. The variety men- 

 tioned seems to belong to the old Gen. Grant 

 type, which disappeared some years ago, 

 owingtoarust which induced a weak growth 

 of vine. Though what passed for seeds of 

 Gen. Grant continued to be sold by some 

 seedsmen. They were not the true variety, 

 but for the most part were the old Early 

 Smooth Red variety. 



The size of Extra Early Trophy is quite 

 small and many specimens, a characteristic 

 to a great degree of all true early market 

 varieties. We think, however, it is a valua- 

 ble acquisition to the market gardener and 

 deserves a more extended trial. It certainly 

 is the most promising early variety we have 

 tested since the Canada Victor was intro- 

 duced, some fifteen years ago or more. 



A veteran horticulturist lately said that 

 " enough new Tomatoeshad been introduced, 

 each claiming to be ten days earlier than 

 any other variety, 

 to make the sea- 

 sons meet and 

 give us ripe ones 

 every day in the 

 year, but the fact 

 remains the same 

 that the perfect 

 early Tomato lia-s 

 not appeared. 



Every year the 

 query arises, 

 " What is the best 

 variety of Tomato 

 for early market 

 and for general 

 market or for 

 packing?" Here- 

 toforeljivingston's 

 Perfection, though 

 not so early in 

 ripening a full 

 crop as some of 

 the inferior varie- 

 ties, has met the 

 requirements of 

 both the market 

 gardener and the 

 packer better than 

 any other, and we have without hesitation 

 recommended it. But last year it showed 

 a weakness of vine and a tendency to the 

 disease known as black rot, now quite pre- 

 valent and which was generally so fatal to the 

 Acme and later on to the Paragon. The new- 

 Optimus Tomato, apparently a near relative. 



of the last named .shows the same tendency. 

 From our own experience and careful 

 inquii-y among growers and packers of To- 

 matoes ill this the great Tomato growing 

 region of the E.ist, we would say that 

 Livi7igston's Favorite and New Beauty and 

 the C'ardinal at present are the safest varie- 

 ties, all having sufficiently heavy foliage and 

 good keeping (pialities. 



An Improved Method of Manure 

 Heating. 



W. r. WAKING, BELKNAP CO., N. U. 



It has occurred to me to describe an 

 improved hot-bed for various purposes, and 

 of which I enclose a rough .sketch. It is 

 virtually a manure heated greenhouse. 



Cross-section of Manure Heated House. 



In its construction, an excavation was 

 made as for a regular hot-bed, three and a 

 half feet deep, the length governed by the 

 number of sash to be used. For width I 

 found that in the use of 6 feet by H feet sash 

 an eleven foot house was the best, giving 

 only enough slant to run the water off 

 readily. The sides of the pit were cut 

 straight and square. Bricks were laid every 

 four feet alongside on the bottom, as a 

 foundation for the studs; these were 2x4- 

 inch scantling four feet long. Double walls 

 of the same height, having an air space of 

 two inches, were built upon them, rough 

 boards below the surface, and matched 

 stuff above. A cap board for the wall of the 

 same angle as the sash was provided. The 

 lower ends of the sash come down over this 

 somewhat as sho%vn in my drawing. Rafters 

 of 2 X 3 stuff are laid at a distance apart to 

 accommodate the width of sash, which are 

 laid on and secured with hooks and screw 

 eyes, several sash on each side being left for 

 ventilation through sliding down from the 

 top. These are provided with fasteners se- 

 curely against being blown off. Except at 

 the ventilators, the cracks between the sash 

 are closed on the outside with lath. The 

 exposed wall, above the surface, is banked 

 to the top with manure. 



Inside a two-foot walk runs through the 

 middle and between inch-board walls that 

 form the sides of the beds. They are three 

 feet high, with studs held in place by strips 

 fastened to the outer walls. The ridge 

 should, for economy of heating, be kept so 

 low as only to allow for head room, the 

 roof having rather a flat pitch, but not so 

 flat as to allow the water to drip Inside, as 

 this excess of moisture is a source of mildew 

 and rot, especially in growing Ijettuce. 



To heat this house manure is used as for 

 an ordinary hot-bed, packed in two or two and 

 a half feet in depth, and covered with six 

 inches of good soil. For getting in the ma- 

 nure and soil the sash are laid aside. 



During all cold nights I keep the house 

 covered with mats, as in ordinary hot-bed 

 management. With accumulating the .sun 

 heat, in addition to the fermenting manure, 

 it is easy to maintain a heat of 45 toH5'at 

 night and of course a considerably higher 

 temperature during the day. 



Such a house does not involve very much 

 more labor in the making than the old style 

 does, while on the whole it is ea.sier managed. 

 The special advantage is that while in the 

 midst of cold weather it is risky to have the 



