114 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



February, 



lary action contiunally drawing moisture 

 from the water level, which is taken off into 

 the atmosphere. By cultivating the soil, it 

 breaks off these tubes, and the earth retains 

 the moisture, so you water your plants above 

 and below, liy cultivating the soil. 



After the crop is harvested, have the 

 stalks pulled and removed. They can be 

 put on the manure heap for Tomatoes, but 

 must not be mixed with manure intended 

 for Cabbages. Don't plant Cabbage on the 

 same ground two years in succession, as the 

 butterflies will lay their eggs in the fences 

 and surroundings, and the young will hatch 

 out early, and be ready for their prey. I 

 don't use artificial manures in outside culti- 

 vation, as they are too expensive, but some- 

 times vise a little indoors. 



Iron for Fruit Trees. 



An exchange furnishes an account of the 

 successful experiment of one of its corres- 

 pondents who buried old iron about the 

 roots of his trees, which resulted in a great 

 improvement in their growth, and in a 

 greatly increased crop of fruit. This re- 

 minds us of an experiment with similar re- 

 sult, many years ago when the theory was 

 extensively advocated that electricity aided 

 vegetable growth, and the Grapevine plant- 

 ed at the foot of the recently erected light- 

 ning rod made twice the growth of the vines 

 remote from it; and the rows of Beans 

 planted over the buried wire with upward 

 points at the ends, grew more vigorously 

 than Beans elsewhere. It was found that 

 the increased growth of the vine was en- 

 tirely the result of the deep bed of mellow 

 earth made in setting the foot of the rod 

 deep into the soil, and the Beans enjoyed 

 the benefit of a similar treatment by the 

 mellow trench for the wire. The pieces of 

 old iron, refuse stovepipes, worn horse 

 shoes, cast oft' iron kettles, etc., could not be 

 buried under the trees without digging the 

 soil deeply and thoroughly, to the great 

 benefit of the roots. Otherwise, the iron 

 could be of no benefit. — Country Gentle- 

 man. 



A Movable Screen for Hot-bed Yard. 



The screen to be described I And possesses 

 some advantages over others that have been 

 used. First, with being easily movable for 

 the summer and winter, it does not afford a 



■^"-^i'^7 



MOVABLE SCREEN FOR HOT-BED YARD. 



harboring place for either vermin or weeds, 

 a matter of some consequence. 



Next, with proper care of the material It 

 will last longer than an ordinary one. Dui-- 

 ing the summer it is taken entirely away 

 and the yard can be cleaned up and made 

 quite presentable in appearance. 



I set long posts eight feet apart inside 

 measure, and to project six feet above 

 ground. The sides that face each other are 

 dressed off square and two strips one inch 

 apart are fastened perpendicularly on each 

 aide, reaching from the ground to the top 

 of the post, forming a groove on each post 



in which the boards are securely held. One 

 of the four strips facing each other is left .six 

 inches the shorter, for the removal of the 

 boards, for which six inch pine, eight feet 

 long is used, and these are kept painted with 

 a pleasing mineral paint. 



In the spring when no longer needed, I 

 store the boards in a dry place ready for the 

 next season. — Chas. Waltz. 



The Culture of an Excellent Market 

 Plant: Cytisus racemosus. 



An English exchange gives the following 

 account of the delightful spring flowering 

 plant, Cj^tisus racemostis, and its culture for 

 the London market. It is a plant which 

 more of our florists could give attention to 

 with profit as a plant for early spring sales. 



This fine old greenhouse plant is nowhere 

 seen so well grown as in Covent-garden 

 market. Charmingly flowered bushes of it 

 from 18 inches to 2 feet in height, and as 

 much through, may be seen in pots never 

 larger than 6 inches or 7 inches in diameter 

 in thousands here. 



Being so hardy, it is also a good plant for 

 the amateur cidtivator who has only a lim- 

 ited supply of heating power in his green- 

 house, or even as a window plant, as a slight 

 frost wiU not injure it. A temperature of 

 about 40 degrees is quite sufficient for it in 

 winter, indeed better than a higher one. 



The best time to propagate this plant is in 

 the month of September, by which time the 

 summer growth has become moderately 

 firm; old rough specimens will at this sea- 

 son furnish a good supply of cuttings. 

 These should be taken off about 1}4 inches 

 in length vrith a sharp knife. Make a clean 

 cut below the lowest joint and remove the 

 leaves about }4 an inch up the stem. The 

 sou used should be loam with plenty of sU- 

 ver-sand; well drain the pots (B-inch ones 

 are the best) and fUl them moderately firm 

 with soil to within H au inch of the liui, 

 place on this a layer of sand, then insert the 

 cuttings, moderately thick, and give water 

 with a fine rosed-pot to settle the sand 

 around them; then place them in a frame in 

 a shady position on a good thick coating of 

 coal ashes. Keep the sashes tolerably close 

 for a time, merely giving a litle air every 

 morning. Pick off all decayed foliage, and 

 keep the sand in the pots just moist. 



Amateurs will find this Cytisus somewhat 

 more difficult to strike than Geraniums. 

 After the cuttings have been in a few weeks 

 they will, generally speaking, have formed 

 a callus. This can be kuovsm by their hav- 

 ing the appearance of starting into growth, 

 and when that happens they may be re- 

 moved to a shelf near the glass in the green- 

 house. Be sure the .soil in the pots is not al- 

 lowed to become dry. 



When rooted, pot them off carefrtlly into 

 small thumb-pots, using similar mold to 

 that alluded to, replace them on the green- 

 house shelf, and if the pots could be set on a 

 little Cocoa-nut fiber, so much the better; or 

 if a pit is available, with means of excluding 

 frost, that is the best of all places for them, 

 as they delight in all stages of their exis- 

 tence in a cool, moist atmosphere. When 

 the soil becomes moderately dry, give it a 

 good soaking of water, and afterwards keep 

 the plants through the winter just fairly 

 moist at the roots, and that is all. 



By the end of February the points of the 

 shoots should be pinched out, which will in- 

 duce them to break out and become bushy. 

 They may now be shifted on into 3-inch 

 pots, and be encouraged to grow freely, giv- 

 ing them abundance of air on all favorable 

 occasions. When all danger from frost is 

 over, re-pot them into 4-inch or .5-inch pots, 

 according to their strength, potting firmly. 

 Now set them out-of-doors on a good hard 

 V)0ttom. so that worms cannot work info the 



pots. Place the plants thereon in the form 

 of a convenient width for watering, etc. 



Be sure not to crowd the plants. The 

 spaces between the pots should be filled with 

 coal ashes to obviate excessive watering. 



As the plants progress in growth, keep 

 them well pinched in, so as to form compact 

 bushes, and in hot weather syringe them 

 freely night and morning, and be sure they 

 are never dry at the root. 



This is not a plant that requires much 

 manure, but I have found a little soot- water 

 very usefid occasionally; it causes the fol- 

 iage to assume a good dark-green color. By 

 the end of August they should be ready for 

 their final shift into the pots in which they 

 are to bloom — a 6 or 7 inch pot will do. 

 About a week after they are potted they 

 should receive their final pinching in, as if 

 this operation is deferred to a later day they 

 do not produce such fine flowers. 



Keep them out-of-doors until there is dan- 

 ger of frost, and then remove to their winter 

 quarters, which may be either a pit or a 

 greenhouse; if to the latter, give them the 

 coldest end. There will now be little to be 

 done beyond attention to watering and ven- 

 tilation until the spring, when they may be 

 aided by a little weak manure-water, and 

 freely syringed until the flowers show color. 



By the month of March the point of every 

 main shoot \^^ll produce a flower-spike, and 

 the whole plant will shortly be a blaze of 

 golden-yellow blossoms. This plant is not 

 subject to insect pests of any kind, and it 

 can be grown to perfection in a small state 

 without the aid of either stake or tie. 



Received at this Office. 



CATALOGUES, ETC.— FIGURES INDICATE PAGES. 



Adams, J. W. & Co., Springfield, Mass., Nursery, 8. 



Bartelds, T. & Co.. Lawrence. Kas., Seeds. 96. 



Bell, J. J., Windsor, N. Y., Florists. 16. 



Bonner. E. & Co., Xenta, O.. Florists. 24. 



Bullard. E. M., West Swanzey, N. H.. Seeds, etc., 30. 



Cole & Bros., Pella, la.. Seeds, 40. 



Cox, S. M. & Co., St. Joseph, Mo., Seeds, 4. 



Droblsch, G., Columbus, O., Roses, 60. 



Ford. Frank & Sons, Ravenna, O., Seeds, etc., 85. 



Qoodell, L. W., DwlKht. Mass., Seeds, 32. 



Haage & Schmidt, Erfurt, Prussia, Seeds, Plants, 800. 



Harman &. Son, South Bend, Ind., Seeds, i2. 



Henderson Pet«r. & Co., New York, Florists, etc., 140. 



Hill & Co., Richmond, Ind.. Florists, 80. 



Hunt,M. A., Terre Haute, Ind., Florist, 80. 



Johnson & Stokes, Philadelphia, Pa.. Seeds, 62. 



Landreth, D. St. Sons, Philadelphia. Pa.. Seeds. 32. 



Maule, Wm. H., Philadelphia, Pa., Seeds. 52. 



Moon, Sani'l C, MorrlsvlUe, Bucks Co., Pa.. Nursery, 4. 



Root, J. B. & Co., Rockford,Ill., Seeds, -18. 



Roozen, Anton & Son, Overveed, HoUand, Bulbs. 86. 



Storrs, Harrison Co., Palnesvllle, O., Florists, etc., 1.S6. 



Templln, L. & Sons. Calla. Ohio, Plants. 74. 



Vlck. James, Rochester. N. Y., Seeds. I:i6. 



Will, O. H., Bismarck, Dak.. Seeds, 18. 



Wlls4m. Samuel, MechanicsviUe, Pa., Seeds, wi. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



"Egyptian Winter Onion Culture," by M. T. Thomp- 

 son, E. Rockport, O. 



"Transactions of the Maine State Pomologlcal Society 

 for the year 1886;" forwarded by Samuel L. Boardman, 

 Secretary, Augusta, Maine. 



"Manitoba, Free Homesteads in;" Hon. D. H. Harri- 

 son, Minister of Agriculture, Wlnnepeg, Manitoba. 



" University of Wisconsin. Department of Agricult- 

 ure, List of Farmers' Institutes from November 1st. 

 1887, to March 28th. 1888." W. H. Morrison, Madison, Wis. 



" Shade and Ornamental Trees suitable for Cultiva- 

 tion in Queens Co., N. Y.;" bv Wm. Falconer, Long 

 Island, N. Y. 



Perlich's Fumlgator and Insect Desti-oyer; Herman 

 Perllch, Baltimore, Md. 



" Proceedings of Fifth .Annual Session of the Louisana 

 State Grange, Patrons of Husbandry;" H. W. Lewis, 

 Secretary, osyka. Miss. 



Bulletin No. 15, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, "The 

 Icerya or Fluted Scale;" from C. V. Riley. Division of 

 Entomologv, Washington, D. C. 



Bulletin No. 13, Part third, V. S. Dep't of Agriculture, 

 Division of Chemistry. " Fermented .\lcuhmlc Bever- 

 ages, etc.;" C. A. Crampton, Washington, D. C. 



Central Experimental Farm, Dep't of Agriculture, 

 Bulletin No. 3, Ottawa, Canada, " Testing vitality of 

 Seeds." Wm. Saunders, Director. 



" Winter Caie of Horses and Cattle;" by T. B. Terry, 

 Hudson, O. 



Agricultural College of Mich.. Bulletin No. 81, "An- 

 nual Report of Professor of Horticulture and Landscape 

 Gardening for 1887." L. H. Bailey, Lansing, Mich. 



" Report of Commissioner of Agriculture for 1887;" by 

 Norman J. Coleman, Washington, D. C. 



" Our Native Plants;" by W. A. Manda, Gardener at 

 the Botanic Garden of Harvard University, Cambridge. 



Bulletin No. 43, N. J. Experimental Station; " Anual- 



Ssls of Fertilizers, etc." Geo. H. Cook, Director, New 

 runswick, N. J. 



Agricultural College of Michigan. Bulletin No. '28, 

 Botanical Departmeut. "Forest Products of the Muse- 

 um of Economic Botauy." W. J. Beal. Lansing. Mich. 



" Memoranda of tlu- Origin, Plan and Results of the 

 Field and other Expciiini-nts. conducted on the Farm 

 and in the Laborator\ of sir .Tolui Bennett Lawes, Bart. 

 L. L. D., F. R. S., Ratothanisted Herts. Eng." 



" History of Michigan Horticulture;" by President T. 

 T. Lyon, being a part of the 17th Annual Report of the 

 State Horticultural Society of Michigan, forwarded by 

 Chas- W. Gai-field, Secretary, Grand Rapids, Mich. 



