POPULAR GARDENING. 



lO' 



all the way from the edge of the lake to the forest 

 line on the hills. Plow suitable soil, in hinds eight 

 feet wide and plant in the deep furrows. If they 

 are not deep enough dig them out and replace 

 earth removed with some good top soil. I think 

 it best to put on some fertilizer; prefer ground 

 bone, from a handful to a half pint to each vine. 

 We strew this on each side the furrow, and as the 

 earth is drawn in to cover the roots the bone be- 

 comes well incorporated with it and gets near the 

 \ine where it can give it a good start. Vines 

 treated in this way grow twice as I'apidly as where 

 the bone is not applied. 



I plant ray vines nine feet aiiart, and about ten 

 inches deep. Some advise us to plant twice as 

 deep, but that depends on the soil. I would plant 

 deei)er in a gravel soil than on clay. If we plant 

 below a certain deiJth roots will start nearer the 

 sui^face, and the lower roots will either die or be 

 of little use. I like to plant deep, but not too deep. 



Ryckman.— I believe in planting down deep, 

 the rows eight feet apart, and vines nine feet in 

 the row. Used to believe in having the rows nine 

 feet apart, but I find that if they are nearer we 

 can plow an entire row at each bout with the 

 gang plow, using three gangs. Four gangs are 

 too heaAT for a team. In preparing for planting 

 would plow just as deep as I could, and remove 

 the earth in the bottom of dead furrows and re- 

 place with the top soil. 



We place the vines so the roots will all run one 

 way and spread the roots out. Then cover with 

 good earth and put in bone dust. The cultiva- 

 tion during the summer will fill up the furrows. 

 In late July or early August we throw the fur- 

 rows toward the vines, for winter protection, 

 and if plowed early the ground will settle and not 

 be penetrated so easily by frosts. Would not 

 plow more than once in the summer. Plow away 

 from the vines in the spring and towards them 

 in the late summer. At the last plowing I have 

 a man lift up each %ane so it is not covered. If 

 it were buried its mass of gieen foliage would 

 rot and injure the canes. I have the earth 

 drawn up aro\md the vines. Next year I wiU 

 have 65 acres bearing in one vineyard. 



We found last season that the vineyards did 

 best that were plowed out eai'liest. But don't 

 plow so early that the land will bake. Wait till 

 the earth is comparatively dry. Some only plow 

 once, and others not at all. If the land is well 

 drained, and the Grape roots are down deep,plow- 

 ing may not be necessary. 



Concerning deep planting, a friend has made 

 a study of this question and ho says to plant at 

 least 20 inches deep. He would do this even in 

 clay soil. Dig down two or two and a half feet 

 deep, fill in with good soil to twenty inches, plant 

 the \ine, and cover with good soil, using fertil- 

 izer. If planted this deep the vine wiU continue 

 to mature even after the surface earth is frozen. 



I believe in thorough cultivation. The freshest, 

 greenest looking vineyard I had this season was 

 cultivated every week. If the weather is dry 

 stirring will dampen the soil. If the soil is damp, 

 stirring will let the air circulate through it and 

 assist evaporation, thus preventing mildew. 



The distance apart to plant depends upon 

 varieties. A wagon can be driven through an 

 eight foot row if the vines are trained as they 

 should be. Our best vlneyardists trim old canes 

 to the lower wire and small canes to the second 

 wire, and during the summer tie the young shoots 

 to the top or third wire. This keeps the young 

 wood off of the ground, gives plenty of room for 

 working, lets the air circulate freely, and checks 

 mildew and other diseases. 



Best Varieties. The Concord is the old stand- 

 by, but yet I advise to plant quite largely of 

 some others. One of these is the Worden. I 

 have several thousand roots; shall plant them all. 

 The Moore's Early is the best early Grape. The 

 Worden comes between Moore's Early and the 

 Concord. It is the best black Grape we have, 

 either for table or wine. At my fruit stand could 

 not sell any other black Grape as long as the 

 Worden was offered. In quality it is way ahead 

 of the Concord. Its shipping qualities have not 

 been tested, and here it may fail. 



Plant Grape vines and keep planting. We can 

 never overdo the business. All that can be 

 grown can be marketed. Our Grape region is 

 limited. Plant the Concord for the main crop. 

 Worden and Moore's Early for early, and the 

 Catawba might do for late, if our growers only 

 knew how to care for it. It naturally bears too 

 much. We put up five to eight canes and get a 

 load of fruit that cannot be matured. In Cen- 

 tral New York they prune their Catawbas to two 

 canes, and only let them bear from one to two 



tons per acre. These will i-ipen perfectly. There 

 is no finer flavored Grai>e than a well-ripened 

 Catawba, and no poorer when immature. Since a 

 crop of from one to two tons per acre will not 

 pay as well as would Concords, it is not profitable 

 to plant Catawbas. Concords sell for more to-day. 



Practical Comments on Hybridizing 

 and Crossingr. 



[_By John Thurpe, Henry Bennet, of England, and 

 others, before the Sueiety of Ameriean Florists.^ 



Mr. Thorpe. The term " hybrid " has been 

 generally wrongfully used. Hybrids are the 

 oftspring of different species. A seedling 

 fi-om .^eed of the (Jen. Grant Geranium (a 

 variety) as one parent, and Master Christine 

 (another variety) as the other, would not be 

 a hybrid, but simply a cross, both parents 

 being varieties of the same species. But could 

 a seedling be obtained from Gen. Grant (of 

 one species) and the Kose-scented Geranium 

 (another species) then we should have a 

 true hybrid. 



Many interesting groups of plants now culti- 

 vated were originally hybrids of species; notably 

 the tuberous Begonias. The foundation of this 

 superb class being Boliviensis, Pearcei, Davisii, 

 Octopetala are admitted to be species, but the 

 varieties in the.se groups to-day can be no longer 

 hybrids, through their having been crossed 

 repeatedly with one another. The same applies 

 indeed to all cross-bred seedlings. 



The mechanical part of cross-breeding I need 

 scarcely mention, e.\cept to say that it is impor- 

 tant and absolutely necessary to remove the 

 stamens (pollen producing organs) from all 

 flowers to be operated upon before there is any 

 possibiUty of becoming self-fertilized, and to 

 protect the pistils (or female organs) from being 

 crossed other than by the variety selected. Unless 

 the conditions of the female plant are such as to 

 enable it to receive the pollen from the male, 

 you will not have any seed. The mechanical ap- 

 plication is simply the traasferring of the pollen 

 of the male to the stigma of the female plant. 



Geraniums. Of Zonal Pelargoniums I have 

 raised seedlings bj' cross-fertilization for nearly 

 thirty years. The many colors to be found in 

 them at this time have been obtained one by one 

 from a very few. 



I have found that to be successful in raising 

 seedlings patience, perseverance, and good judg- 

 ment are necessary. One of the first things is to 

 secure good plants, possessing the properties 

 most desirable, then to mate them accordingly, 

 — being careful to prevent their being fertilized 

 by insects or otherwise. The best time for Pelar- 

 goniums is early in November, as at that season 

 there are but few insects, and pollen grains do 

 not float iu the air, as in summer. For years I 

 used no varieties as parents except my own, as 

 by bringing in varieties raised by others I fre- 

 quently have broken up the characteristics I was 

 anxious to perpetuate. 



In crossing to obtain particular colors, I have 

 found, as a rule, where a scai'let as one parent 

 and a white as the other was used, the result has 

 not been as satisfactory as where the colors have 

 not been so widely separated, as there are always 

 variations in seedlings, many of which differ 

 gieatly from each parent. If a seedling shows 

 any new character it is best to keep it intact for 

 at least two generations, and to breed it in and in 

 so as to establish its peculiarities. This applies 

 to plants generally. 



Mr.Wm. K. Harris. The gentlemen had spoken 

 of selecting the male and female (ieranium 

 flowers for color, form, etc. He had also been 

 governed in his selections by the apimrent 

 strength, health, and other characteristics of the 

 imrent stock. As a general thing he had been 

 successful in the results obtained, seldom failing 

 to get something superior. He had foiuid that, 

 by scientific methods, the grower was certain to 

 obtain at least a few flowers of superior quality ; 

 whereas, if nature was vmaided, thousands might 

 be grown without the appearance of anything 

 having a quality above the ordinai-y average. 



Carnations. Mr. Thorpe. In raising seedling 

 Carnations for winter flowering, it will be neces- 

 ary to use for parents such varieties as have the 

 tendency to flower early, combined witha.strong. 

 free habit of growth. These are also much easier 

 to cross in winter months than at any other season. 



How far nature yields to man's influence is 

 well portrayed in the Carnation. When taken in 

 hand to improve it some twenty years ago, there 

 were but few free-flowering varieties; there 



were scarcely any with long stems, and most of 

 them had split calyxes. In the early days of 

 Carnations there was no choice ; now we can 

 afford to be critical. 



Mr. Charles T. Starr. I originated the Butter- 

 cup Carnation, as I might say, with my eyes shut, 

 because I was without any known law to go by. 

 It was produced from the cross of Edwardsii as 

 the female parent and the old Astoria as the male 

 parent. The color was from the Astoria. But 

 the constitution of the Buttercup is entirely 

 different from Astoria, the latter being rather a 

 weak grower; audit is diflfieult to tcU whence 

 the constitution of the Buttercup came. We are 

 now striving to get a good Rose color with Grace 

 Wilder as the male parent, and the Edwardsii as 

 the female paient. We have a very bright 

 orange by fertilizing Buttercuj) with Century. 



In regai-d to growing the seed after fertiliza- 

 tion : About two days after the flower has been 

 fertilized, if a union has been formed, the petals 

 begin to curl. We then cut the jjctals off to the 

 top of the calyx. That is necessary, as otherwise 

 the seed will be likely to mold, as we generally 

 grow the seed in the gi'eenhouse altogether in 

 the spring months. We find February the better 

 time for fertilizing the Carnation. As soon as 

 the seed has become ripe we plant it at once, 

 before it becomes di'y. I have known Carnation 

 seed to come up and develop in three days. It 

 is necessary to be very careful of the little seed- 

 lings after they have developed their second 

 leaf, else they will damp oft at the top of the 

 ground. We then pot them in small pots, grow 

 them for about a month, and set them out in the 

 open ground. 



Chrysanthemums. Mr. Thorpe. Artificial fer- 

 tilization of these is an operation requiring great 

 care in manipulation. Select the variety you 

 wish to seed, pot-plant;; with one or two flowers 

 preferred; then, as the flowers open, with a pair 

 of sharp scissors cut off the petals so as to expose 

 the style at theii' base ; cover over with a piece 

 of fine netting to prevent premature fertilization. 

 Select for your pollen, or male parent, one which 

 has the desired properties jou wish to combine 

 with the seed parent ; then as the pollen ripens 

 api>ly it to the style with afinecamel's-hairbrush 

 or a tine feather. Chrysanthemum seed ripens 

 in from three weeks to a month. 



Boses. Mr. Henry Bennet. With a crimson 

 male you can get a crimson from a white female 

 of the Hybrid Perpetual class, but no one has 

 ever yet got the yellow into a Hybrid Perpetual. 

 The yellow in the Polyantha Japonica once fei'- 

 tilized will produce a yellow almost to a certainty. 

 If you fertilize with the yellow variety you will 

 almost certainly get a yellow with it,even though 

 you operate on a white flower. One important 

 matter: pay particular attention to secure a 

 high quality in the male plant. You will get 

 better progeny from a moderate female with a 

 good male than from a thoroughly good female 

 and only a moderate male. The better the 

 parents the better the results. I have had many 

 good results from a bad female, but never suc- 

 ceeded in getting good flowers from a bad male. 



Mr. John N. May. In the hybridization, to 

 attain a color, I find that we are obliged to select 

 not only a good strong constitution, but very 

 caret ullj' the colors we wish to have perpetuated. 

 To improve the color I have found a more diffi- 

 cult matter than antici|jated. We cannot create 

 from Nature a primary color,— we can only assist 

 Nature. Scarlet has never yet been produced in 

 the Rose. Appreciating this fact, I made it the 

 object of my reseai'ches to obtain the nearest 

 possible approach to a scarlet. I took General 

 Jacqueminot and fertilized it with Perle des 

 Jardins. The result is a Rose ten shades brighter 

 in color than any known at the present day. 



Potatoes. Mr. D. S. Hefifron. I have succeeded 

 better with Potatoes than with othei-s things. I 

 select first the mother plant, endeavoring to get 

 a healthy constitution, and of the form I want 

 perfected. For the male plant I select one of the 

 reciuisite color and other characteristics to be 

 reproduced. In crossing the two not all may 

 have been better, but many of them were bettor 

 than the parents. A good rule (I throw it out for 

 what it is worth) is this: in the female parent 

 get the strong, healthy-growing plant of the 

 right height, and then in the male plant look to 

 the color and the form of the flower. 



Insect Interference, etc. Mr. Bennett. I do 

 not think people need be discouraged in hybrid- 

 izing because of a fear of insects operating on the 

 flowers. The scent may in some instances attract 

 insects: I believe that the great attraction is the 

 color of the petals. I took my cue in this from 



