1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



119 



Shipping. Wcship by fieiifht t<i New Viiik unci 

 Philadelphia in refrigerator tars. The Philadel- 

 phia train starts in the afternoon, the New York 

 train in the afternoon or evening. They arrive 

 at their destinations about midnight on the fol- 

 lowing day, ready for the eai'ly market, which is 

 about two or three o'clock in the morning. Those 

 who furnish ice for the cars are charged sixty 

 cents per crate for transportation to New York, 

 all others sixty-five cents. No charge is made for 

 returning empty crates. These are generally all 

 returned with baskets, the latter much changed 

 about from grower to grower and with New 

 Jersey parties. We use no gift crates, and 

 growei-s are much prejudiced against them. 

 Crates are packed in the cars four or five tiers 

 high, and certainly a flimsy gift crate on the lower 

 tier would not stand the immense weight above, 

 but would break and allow the berries to be 

 crushed and spoiled. 



Prices. Most growers conti'act for 5)^, 6 or 

 7 cents per quart, but a good many send on 

 commission. Some years the latter lo.'ie, ofteuer 

 they make. Certainly the contract plan gives no 

 advantage to the man that produces superif)r 

 stock. My plan is to secure a reliable commission 

 house, cull my berries and put them up in an at- 

 tractive style. By so doing I hope to secure a 

 reputation such as is held by some famous butter 

 makers. The man who sells on contract, although 

 his brand may become famous and thereby en- 

 rich the speculator, may never know of it; and 

 of course will receive no benefit. 



School Yard Horticulture. 



IKxtractfrom Paper read by Elias A. Long before the 

 Western New York Horticultural Society.] 



My earliest interest in the subject of School 

 Yard Horticulture I think dates from about 

 the year 18.59. It was as a scholar attending 

 a district school in Western New York. 

 The yard of this school was ample in size, 

 I should think fully an acre of land, and 

 was embellished with Maple trees for .shade, 

 and with Apple trees that provided both 

 shade and fruit. 



Let it not be supposed that any large amount 

 of sport was derived from knocking down and 

 consuming green fruit from those trees. This 

 is, it is true, a kind of sport which the American 

 boy stands charged with ha\ing a great liking 

 for, but let me take his pai-t and say that with 

 proper direction and instruction he is capable 

 of better things. And that tree-adorned school 

 yard affords the proof of this assertion. 



It was a rule of the school, and rarely if ever 

 broken, that the Apples should not be molested 

 during their growing season, or until a certain 

 date, when they were pronounced fit to gather. 

 On that date the school under the charge of the 

 teacher gathered the fruit. It was picked by the 

 larger boys and stored in the teacher's closet un- 

 der lock and key, and held for the use of the 

 school to which it belonged. 



Then as the Apples became fit for eating they 

 were dispensed to the scholars in a most satisfac- 

 tory manner. This took place every day, or 

 every other day, as long as the supply lasted. 

 Just previous to dismissal four boys proceeded 

 to the Apple bin and filled four market baskets 

 with the fruit, which was then carried through 

 the school room, giving each scholar one or 

 two Apples, until all were provided. They were 

 not to be eaten until after dismissal, and when 

 that time came you can easily imagine how 

 these scholars enjoyed the Apple eating— a hun- 

 dred and fifty scholars together munching down 

 the fruit and chatting happU.v over the repast. 

 How good they did taste! 



Every scholar there learned the important les- 

 son that ripe fruit to which one has a legitimate 

 right is vastly better than the same fruit green, 

 and perhaps pilfered. The further lesson was 

 taught to maturer minds that children have reas- 

 oning powers, and that it is not difficult to con- 

 trol them by intelligent restraint to respect trees 

 and fruits and flowers, if they are but rightly 

 appealed to. 



Hartng touched upon this practical aspect of 

 the subject of school yard horticulture and the 

 scholar's relation to improvements, let us turn 

 and consider somewhat the present widely pre- 

 vailing need of increased attention to our sub- 

 ject. I think no one here is blind to the fact that 

 the American schoolyard as a rule is in a sad 

 state of neglect in matters of tree and other or- 

 dinary horticultural embellishments. 



That some grave difficulty is in the way of 

 adorning school yards with trees, vines, shrubs. 



plants, lawn, ett*., not found when we provide 

 these in our own grounds, is not in any serious 

 degree true. Whether the undertaking is merely 

 that of setting out plenty of trees for shade, 

 shelter and beauty, or the more elaborate one of 

 introducing and caring for a considerable variety 

 of ornamental growths, the task, considering 

 the number of persons interested and the actual 

 means in c\cry dfetrict at the back of the enter- 

 prise, should not be a difficult one tfi handle. 

 Properly enlisted and lead and there should he 

 enough willing hands for the work in men, 

 women and children, to make it light indeed. 

 The difficulty at the root of the matter undoubt- 

 edly is found in the fact that school yard im- 

 provement too much ]iresents a case of " what 

 is everybody's business is nobody's busines-s," 

 and the school yard remains unadorned. 



As to the matter of direct ways and means for 

 best prosecuting the work, there may be some 

 difference of opinion. I notice this subject was 

 brought up before the meeting of the Michigan 

 State Horticultural Society last month, and this 

 difference of ideas as to manner of procedure 

 was manifest. Secretary Chas. W. Garfield re- 

 lab'd the discouragements he had met in trying 

 to interot tin- educational ofBcei-s of the State in 

 the embellishnicut of school premises. He had 

 labored with the board of education and the 

 president of the state teachers' association, urg- 

 ing that this matter be given prominence in the 

 state institutes and conventions, but there 

 seemed to be no fair appreciation of the matter 

 on the part of either of these bodies to lead them 

 to act. It was his own idea that whatever wa.s 

 attempted in this direction be independent of 

 the state educational organizations. 



President Lyon at the same meeting ex- 

 pressed the opinion that the most promising 

 method for success in this direction lies in secur- 

 ing stimulating legislation. Let the legislature 

 pro\nde that in cases where a certain amount is 

 expended in successful ornamentation of rural 

 schof)l grounds the State will add a certain 

 amount in money to continue the embellish- 

 ment; the influence is with the attempt. A com- 

 mittee charged with the duty of preparing a 

 suitable memorial to the next legislature in the 

 line of President L.von's suggestion was chosen. 

 Professor Tracy advanced the idea that the 

 children themselves must be interested and 

 kejtt to the work or no good wiU come. 



To my mind no solution of the problem seems 

 more feasible than that to be found in associa- 

 tion work by the people of each district respect- 

 ively, in a way similar to that upon which rillage 

 improvement a.ssociations are so successfully 

 conducted in many places. I am satisfied that 

 much if not all that should be done in school 

 yards could in most cases be better done thus by 

 the independent concerted action of the leading 

 families of a school district, who have the inter- 

 est of the school closely at heart, than by State 

 aid or otherwise. In a recent issue of Popular 

 Gardening and Fruit Growing I had occasion 

 to advance this same idea, and it pleased me 

 to have the article draw out a personal letter of 

 endorsement from the Hon. B. G. Northrop, 

 of Clinton, Conn., who has taken such a leading 

 and successful pai't in establishing village im- 

 provement associations throughout the Eastern 

 and other States. I should suppose that in those 

 localities where a live improvement association 

 exists at present the work of improvement 

 would very properly come within its province, 

 pro\ided there is no special society. But out- 

 side of this I would be in favor of seeing a 

 Schoolyard Improvement Association in some 

 form, in every school district outside of the 

 large towns, to look after this and related school 

 matters. Such an association should easil.v se- 

 cure the active support of every man and wo- 

 man in the district, and there would be no diffi- 

 culty in getting the children interested in a way 

 to tell well for making and keeping up the im- 

 provements from year to year. 



W. C. Barry followed with remarks on the 

 same subject in which he referred to its gi'eat 

 importance, and suggested that the teachers 

 ought to have some knowledge of the matter 

 and be prepared to lead the scholars in the way 

 calculated to fo.ster a lo\'e for the useful and 

 beautiful in horticulture. The woods near 

 which many schoolhouses are located are filled 

 with many native plants now unknown that 

 would afford knowledge and amusement if 

 rightly used. In the neglect of this matter 

 country people have no excuse. About the 

 schoolhouse provide suitable shrubs, trees and 

 flowers, placed under the charge of the teacher. 



who should Ik; held responsible for them, using 

 them to direct the children's tastes in new and 

 higher channels than is done by mere books. 

 This society shoidd inaugurate such a \vork. 



A New Pear of High Quality— The 

 Coles. 



EI.I MINCH, SHn,OH, X. .1. 



Wc have received from E. Eicholt/., Detroit, 

 Kansas, the above named Pear, our cut Ix'ing 

 made from a siM?cimen sent us last fall. It is a 

 variety wc deem of special prrtmise, both a-s to 

 the superior iiuality of the fruit and the health 

 and vitality of the tree. We describe the Pear: 

 Size, fully mediinn, to rather large; color, alight 

 green, upon ripening becomes a light canary 

 yellow. Skin, \'ery thin, with many small patches 

 of ru.s.sct, and with very small brown specks. 

 Form given in cut. Seedsand core impert'ect, or 

 almost seedless and coreless. The flesh is very 

 tender, almost melting. In point of quality we 

 know of no Pear at any season that is its supe- 

 rior. To our taste it excels the Seckel with more 

 S|>rightly vinous flavor, and free from the sickly, 

 sweet tastti of some kinds of our best dessert 

 Pears. The caly.x is closed with segments very 

 small whorled or contorted. 



The Pear is, according to its originator, a seed- 

 ling of either the Duchess or Flemish Beauty (we 

 think it is of the laterl. Tree a medium to strong 

 grower, with a half spreading top. Bark smooth 

 with the color of wild crab apple. The tree holds 



THE COLES PEAR. 



it fruit tenaciously, a valuable feature in fruits 

 set in exposed windy locations. It does not part 

 with its foliage until frost. An excellent bearer. 

 The season in Kansas is from September to Nov- 

 ember. Our specimens kept well until Novem- 

 ber 10th, when they were cut for description. 



&X>. Lime for Orapes. A thin dressing of lime 

 applied to the vines and well worked in around 

 them would prove decidedlj- beneficial to them 

 in most situations.- C. E. P. 



6Xt. Cloth Cover for Cabbage Plant Baising. 

 Cloth suitiibly prepared will answer for raising 

 Cabbage and similar plants and possesses at least 

 one advantage over glass in the matter of \-enti- 

 lation, as, while glass on sunny days requires care- 

 ful management to prevent the plants burning, 

 the cloth can be used without danger. On frames 

 it need not be removed, unless for watering, 

 until the plants are ready to pull. For rendering 

 cloth waterproof, the following preparation is 

 recommended: Heat one quart of linseed oil, 

 either raw or boiled, one ounce of juilverized 

 sugar of lead and four ounces of pulverized resin, 

 in an iron \'es,sel until dissolved: thoroughly mix- 

 ing while hot. :ii>?ily one c<iat to the upper side 

 of the cloth, which becomes imperiious to moist- 

 ure and tT-aiLsiiaicnt. Though this home-made 

 article will make a fair substitute for glass dur- 

 ing tlu' curl.\ s|iring months, it will probably not 

 be scr\ iccubic for more than one .season, tor as 

 the Sim's heat increases, the cloth is apt to mildew 

 and turn to a dark, dirty color, under which the 

 plants will not thrive. Where any great quantity 

 IS used, the Waterproof Fiber, for sale by 

 leading Horticultural firms, mil be found the 

 best, as it is durable, effective and not expensive. 

 See also answer No. 576 in this issue.— E. E. S. 



