96 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



February, 



of the plant, fighting weeds should com- 

 mence. Never disturb the soil deeply, )ise 

 the garden rake mostly. Place runners in 

 position by hand, loosening the soil a little 

 where the runners are to be struck. 



When to Cease Culture.— By culture is 

 here intended any disturbance of soil in 

 general, to interfere with the so-called 

 fruiting roots. Within from two to four 

 weeks before the final setting in of winter a 

 new series of roots designed to feed the fruit 

 commences to form. These grow near the 

 surface, hence it is safest to abandon culture 

 except on the surface fully two weeks before 

 time for the early frosts. 



As TO Mulch. — Apply liberally between 

 rows as soon as the first severe fi'osts take 

 place; this acts as a protection to the fruit- 

 ing roots. At the setting in of winter cover 

 the plants lightly to protect the foliage from 

 the winds and sun. 



Care in the Spring of Fruiting.— Do 

 not disturb the soil except pulling of any 

 weeds appearing while yet small After all 

 frosts remove the mulch from over the plant, 

 allowing it to remain between the rows. 



Foreign Grapes in tlie Greenhouse- 

 Growing in Pots. 



Most amateurs possessing a light and 

 heated greenhouse or span-roofed pit might 

 easily furnish their tables with some deli- 

 cious foreign Grapes by adopting pot culture. 



Vines in pots in large garden establish- 

 ments are often relied on to furnish the very 

 earliest supply of forced fruit. But the 

 process of growing the vine quickly into a 

 condition strong enough to bear a satisfac- 

 tory crop of fruit in a pot is one that de- 

 mands much attention, the all-important 

 matter being thorough maturation of the 

 wood. If this essential is not attained, fail- 

 ure is well nigh certain. 



Under these circumstances, therefore, it is 

 advisable with the amateur who may wish 

 to try his hand at pot vine culture to pur- 

 chase fruiting canes in the autumn from a 



'IfflMlOTnwwiiw 



FOREIGN GRAPE-VINE GROWN IN POT. 



reputable nursery where their culture is 

 made a specialty of, selecting those which 

 have firm, brown, and well-ripened wood, 

 and .showing prominent and well-developed 

 buds. The best sorts to purchase for the 

 purpose in view would be of free-bearing 

 kinds, such as Black Hamburgh, Royal 

 Muscadine, Foster's White Seedling, Mad- 

 resfleld Court, Royal Ascot, and Alicante. 



Muscats rarely succeed well in pots, there- 

 fore they had best be avoided. 



October or November is a good season to 

 lay in a stock of canes from the nursery, 

 and as very early forcing is not contemplated, 

 they may be wintered in any house or pit 

 that admits of the exclusion of severe frost, 

 and great care must be taken that 

 they do not become over-dry at the 

 roots, for although the vines are in a 

 state of rest, still great injury will 

 surely occur if this matter is neglected. 



Having previously shortened the 

 canes back to about 9 feet or 7 feet 

 in length, about the first week in March 

 will be a good time to introduce them 

 into the house or pit intended for their 

 culture. They will not require re-pot- 

 ting, but should be rather deeply sur- 

 face dressed with turfy-loam and 

 crushed bones, and receive a thorough 

 soaking of tepid water at the roots. If 

 a bed of fermenting material, made of 

 leaves and manure well mi.xed, is at 

 command the pots may be slightly 

 plunged therein — but if not available 

 they do very well stood on the stage 

 or floor of the house. The canes should 

 be allowed to hang down at the points 

 to encourage the buds to break uni- 

 formly. When that stage is reached 

 they can be fastened to the training 

 wires on the roof of the house, or be 

 wound round some strong stakes in 

 the manner shown in the accom- 

 panying illustration. The treatment as to 

 temperature, ventilation, thinning the ber- 

 ries, etc., is precisely the same in all its 

 details as that of the ordinary grapery. Pot 

 vines, of course, demand great attention to 

 watering, and when the fruit is swelling 

 they will consume large quantities of liquid 

 stimulant — that made from cow manure 

 and soot being as good as anything. Pot 

 vines when grown wound round stakes are 

 often used with good effect as an ornament, 

 when the fruit is ripe, on the dining-room 

 table or sideboard.— Gardening Illustrated. 



Fertility in Vegetable Gardening. 



WM. H. YEOMANS, TOLLAND CO., CONN. 



In the growing of all crops there should 

 be such an amount of the various elements 

 entering into their growth as may be neces- 

 sary to carry them to a fairly reasonable 

 perfection. If this is a necessity in the case 

 of ordinary field crops, when it comes to the 

 production of vegetables, such as are satis- 

 factory as to size and quality, the necessity 

 becomes very much increased. 



No real success can l)e hoped for in the 

 growth of vegetables without the use of 

 large quantities of manure, supplemented 

 by a liberal use of commercial fertilizers. 

 Vegetables may attain fair size upon a mod- 

 erately rich soil, but inasmuch as their 

 growth was only moderate, continuing 

 through the season, their quality is seldom 

 satisfactory. Such are usually coarse, 

 stringy and of strong flavor. 



There is little danger of manuring a soil 

 too heavily for vegetables, and when grown 

 upon a soil that is rich in the elements of 

 plant nutrition the growth is rapid, matur- 

 ity is reached early and the character is 

 tender, sweet and .iuicy, just such as is de- 

 sirable either for home use or for market. 

 Upon every farm the point should be made 

 to use all fertilizing material that is fre- 

 quently allowed to go to waste. By the con- 

 tinual saving of this and composting it, much 

 valuable fertility will be accumulated and 

 of a character just suited for the garden. 



The use of house slops in the garden will 

 add no little to the fertility of the soil and 

 in such form as to be assimilated to the plant 

 immediately. Chamber slops possess an 

 unknown and unappreciated value, and 



should be appropriated for use in the garden. 

 They may be cast upon the soil during the 

 growing season, and also during the winter. 

 It is said that a farmer grew quite a patch 

 of Onions where no other fertilizer was used 

 than the slops from the chamber. 

 Ordinarily there is not sufficient care 



HOLLYHOCK— CRIMSON JACKMANIl. 



exercised in saving nor in applying fertilizers 

 to the vegetable garden. Success cannot be 

 hoped for without— a fact that farmere 

 should be quick to acknowledge, and by 

 which they should measure their actions. 



Hollyhock Crimson Jackmanii. 



What Mr. M. A. Hunt, of Terre Haute, 

 Indiana styles a much improved Hollyhock 

 is shown in the above engraving. It is 

 called the Crimson Jackmanii, and is said 

 to stand unrivaled for beauty of bloom and 

 majesty of gro\vth. No doubt the Holly- 

 hock is in the way of again becoming much 

 more popular with gardeners than it has 

 been for some time past, as it certamly de- 

 serves to do. Believing such to be the case, 

 it is a pleasure to call attention to any 

 marked improvement in this grand genus 

 of summer flowering plants. 



The flower of Crimson .Jackmanii is de- 

 scribed as being of a bright crimson color, 

 very large, perfectly double, and a perfect 

 rosette, which in elegance of shape rivals 

 the Camellia. It is said to have, moreover, a 

 longer stem than is usual to these flowers, 

 a point which should be decidedly in its favor 

 as a bouquet flower. The disseminator of 

 the variety informs us that he has cut sin- 

 gle blooms of it which measured four and 

 one-half inches through. 



As a decorative plant for backgrounds, 

 for arranging in clumps on the lawn, or for 

 enlivening the shrubbery border which be- 

 gins to fail in its profusion of bloom about 

 the time the Hollyhock season of flowers 

 opens, the Hollyhocks as a class possess 

 special value. The richness of the colors, 

 the conspicuous arrangement of the flowers 

 on the upright stalk, the large handsome 

 leaves and the general stately bearing of 

 the plant as it towers above the majority of 

 its neighbors, offer an array of good quali- 

 ties not elsewhere to be found. 



Nor is the culture of Hollyhocks difficult. 

 The plants delight in a rich soil; to be oc- 

 casionally divided and reset in the fall, and 

 a slight protection given during winter. 

 Plants from seed sown in the spring or sum- 

 mer bloom the second year, while if it be 

 sown as early as January or February in 

 heat, and the plants well brought on, they 

 will sometimes bloom the same year. 



