i888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



129 



Rvery now and then we heai- of what may be 

 done in the way of (frowins? Orchids in a rtial 

 jfi-eentioiise the night temiierature nintrinp be- 

 low 40°. Tliat a few may lie so treated I do not 

 doubt; and anionjf the number we may include 

 IJisji ff landillora. one of our showiest and pretti- 

 est late summer and autnmn-flowerinff Orchids 

 —a plant often killed by being subjected to too 

 much heat. 



But although Orchids may be grown in such a 

 cool grecnho\ise, I do not recommend that mode 

 of treatment in general. The house kept a little 

 higher with a winter heat never below 4f>°, and 

 we ha\"e a place in which a great man.v of oiu- 

 prettiest and easily cultivated species and varie- 

 ties of Orchids may be successfully grown. To 

 think that Orchids can onl.v be grown in a house 

 specially constructed for them is a mistake, as 

 any structure in which a Geranium may be 

 successfully grown will answer the purpose. One 

 Important jioint ought not to be forgotten— that 

 is, the plant should be kept well up to the light. 

 This can be done by using pots on which to stand 

 the plants, or hanging up those that speciallj- 

 need it, and having the stages re-arranged to 

 meet the requireraents. 



Kinds to Grow. I would strongly recommend 

 commencing with the cool section, and if success 

 attends your eiforts, species and varieties requir- 

 ing more heat may be added afterwards. The 

 following list may be taken as representing the 

 best of pretty, cheap, and easily-cultivated kinds; 

 — Anguloa Clowesii, Cattleya citrina, Cattleya 

 Triana' (at warm end of house), Ccelogj'ne erista- 

 ta, C'ymbidium eburneura, Cypripedium insigne 

 and its varieties, Dendrobium nobile (at the 

 warm end of the house), Epidendrum atropur- 

 purevuu, E. vitellinum majus, Ladia anceps, L. 

 autumnalis, Masdevallia Harryana, M. ignea, M. 

 Lindenii, M. tovarensis, M. Veitchiana, odonto- 

 alossum Alexandre, O. Cervantesii, o. eitros- 

 muni, o. gloriosum, O. grande, O. Pescatorei, O. 

 pidchillum, o. Rossii raajus, O. triumphans, O. 

 ve.villarium (at warm end of house), Oneidium 

 erispum, O. cucnllatura, 1 1. Forbesii, ( I. ornithor- 

 rhynchum, O. tigrinum, Lycaste Skinnerii, 

 Pleione lagenaria, P. maeulata, P. Wallichii, and 

 Sophronitis grandifloni give a good selection with 

 which to begin. As their culture and wants be- 

 come understood and mastered, the chances are 

 that a great many more of the lovely \ arieties 

 will be added. 



Many have a fancy for some favorite genus, 

 striving to obtain all the gems belonging to it. 

 It does not imply that the rarer a plant is the 

 prettier is the flower. Some of the fabulous 

 prices i)aid for a single plant would be sufficient 

 ti> build and stock a range of < ii'chid hou.ses. 



There are ho]ies of getting something good 

 among imported plants, as there is alwa.vs great 

 interest in watching them flower for the first 

 time. Seeing that imported plants are natural 

 seedlings, and, it may be hybrids, there is always 

 a difference to be found in the flower of each in- 

 dividual that opens. Certainly, freshly imported 

 plants find a ready sale; and the quantity impor- 

 ted every year 1 irings them well within the reach 

 of the amateur. 



Potting. The material used in potting Orchids 

 is simple in the extreme compared with what is 

 sometimes recommended for some particidar 

 plant. Good fibrous peat and sphagnum are all 

 that is required for most epiphj-taKJrchids, with, 

 perhaps, the addition of some pieces of charcoal. 

 in potting great care should be taken to use only 

 clean pots, and that the potsherds have been pre- 

 vi<jusly washed, as the cleaner and sweeter e verj'- 

 thing is ke|it, the better the plants will like it, 

 and show the results in their healthy appearance. 



TUc pots require to be filled three parts full of 

 l)Otsherds, or what is perhaps better, i)lace an in- 

 verted pot inside the one intended for use, so 

 that it comes about three parts up, and fill the 

 .space round it with potsherds. On this iilace a 

 layer of sphagnum moss, and o\'er it place your 

 plant; then fill in round with rough pieces of turfy 

 peat and sphagnum, makmgthe whole moderate- 

 ly firm, but avoid anything like extremes. Place 

 three or foin- patches of li\e sphagnum on the 

 top, wiiich will ultimately grow and cover the 

 whole surface. When finished, the plant should 

 stand about one inch or so above the level of the 

 pot— the peat and sphagnum being so adjusted 

 that the whole forms a rounded mass. 



Avoid using bad peat having a close sandy 

 texture, or of a close retentive nature; such peat 

 soon gets sour, and consequently, the plants 

 suffer. Do not u.se the fine portion that falls out 

 jis you l>reak the peat uij; that ma.v be used for 

 something else. 



There is no law to lay down as to time for 

 potting, but it may be taken as a safe guide that 

 when the plants are st^irting into growth they 

 nia.\' be i>otted if they require it. See that the 

 soil which contjiins no roots, or say that has Iw- 

 cf)me som*, is taken away before potting. This 

 helps to keep the idant in better condition; but if 

 it should not be in a healthy state, all the soil 

 should be carefully taken away, and the i-oots 

 washed in clean water, cutting away with a sharp 

 knife all decayed portions, afterwards re-potting 

 in fresh material. In such cases a few pieces ttf 

 charcoal may be added to the peat and sphag- 

 num. Although there is nothing in the chiircoal 

 itself to help the growth of the plant, it forms a 

 reservoir which stores up and gives off gases 

 fiiMirable to plant life. 



iTo be concluded next month. \ 



Successful Onion Culture. 



IBy Wm. H. Derby, and others, before the Boston 

 Market Oordeners' Association.^ 



The essayist, Mr. Derby, conflned himself 

 to tlie methods ot Onion growing at Revere, 

 wliere the business has been steadily grow- 

 ing and is fairly profitable. 



Seed Onions— Seed Baislng. Good seed is a 

 ver.v important item. To grow it one must 

 select carefully the best bulbs and place them in 

 a dry place to keep with the tops on. Early in 

 spring they are set out, after cutting off the old 

 tops if any remain, in rows three feet apart and 

 six inches between the bulbs in the rows. The 

 crop is carefully cultivated and weeded, and in 

 September the seed is cut and stored in a dry 

 place until it can be cleaned. A barrel of Onions 

 will produce about ten pounds of seed in a favor- 

 able year, but sometimes less than half as much. 



President Kawson remarked that he formerly 

 used to grow Onions from seed, but dm-ing the 

 last four (}v five years had changed his practice. 

 If he could grow the heav.y and fine crops that 

 Kevere land prf)duces he would follow the plan 

 i>f Mr. Derby, but upon his lighter land he found 

 it more profitable to plant sets. The cost of sets, 

 la bushels per acre at $3..'iO is more than double 

 the cost of seed, the labor of planting the .sets is 

 also considerable, but is offset by the saving of 

 labor in weeding, for sets are grown with only 

 one hand weeding, while gi'owing from seed 

 Onions demand three or more band weedings. 

 Moreover the Celery crop which follows the 

 ( )nions can be worked a month earlier where sets 

 are grown and this is often a very great advan- 

 tage. The sets come to market at better prices 

 than are obtained when the Onions from seed 

 come in. So that although the labor is greater 

 and the jield not .so large, as he is situated, there 

 is more profit in the sets. 



The short crop <>f Onion seed here this year he 

 thought wouUi not affect the price much; the 

 western and southern seed is plenty and good, 

 though the Onions grown from it are flatter than 

 oius, still they are very good and the difference 

 wfudd not be noticed by many. 



Fitting the Soil. The land at Revere is mostly 

 strong clay loam and works best by apiilying in 

 the fall a heavy dressing of coarse manure, which 

 is plowed in; land thus enriched will admit ot 

 working a week earlier in spring than if not thus 

 heated, a very important point with Onicins, 

 which nuist be planted early, the earUer the 

 better. May 12 being as late as is considered safe. 

 The best crops are usually grown on the strongest 

 clay land. For fertilizers he relied almost entirely 

 upon stable manure, although he had experi- 

 mented with many other things in addition, but 

 had not on the whole received returns enough to 

 warrant a repetition of their use. 



Mr. Kawson remarked that he had tried man.\- 

 artificial fertilizers alwaj'S in addition to stable 

 manure, but none of them seemed to be very 

 profitable except wood ashes, which he valued 

 highly. He used sulphate of ammonia on Spin- 

 ach, lajwever. 



Mr. Kirby alluded to the opinion of chemists 

 that Onions need much pota-sh, and to the prac- 

 tice of the late Capt. J. B. Moore of using sid- 

 phate of potash on tJnions; he had followed this 

 practice ami used, with good results, 4()fl lbs. per 

 acre of sulphate of potash in addition to stable 

 manure. Fertilizers of this sort can be applied 

 after the Onions are up. 



Mr. Hall alluded to the experience of Mr. 

 Proctor of Danvcrs. who had grown good crops 

 of Onions by the application of 50 bushels of 

 wood ashes per acre, without other manure. 



Culture. The rows are sown 13 inches apart 

 with 9 to l;i .seeds to the foot f)r 3% pounds per 



acre. If Celery is to be grown on the same land, 

 as is usually done at Revere, each eighth row is 

 left blank for the Celery. Clean culture is xcry 

 important, and for this purpose the Arlington 

 wheel hoe is used very often, and several hand 

 weedings are needed. The crop is housed, after 

 drying in the field with the tops on, and sold as 

 wanted through the fall and winter. His average 

 cr<ii> wasHOO t(» 700 bushels per acre on laud, one- 

 eighth of which is occupied by Celery, and on 

 rare occasions he had known 1000 bushels per 

 acre to be grown. 



Drawbacks. This crop is subject to blight and 

 smut, and is infected by green flies or lice. There 

 is no remedy of much value, though many have 

 been tried. Formerly the Onion growei-sused to 

 grow them continufiusly on the same land, but 

 recently they have adopted the plan of growing 

 them only one or two years in the same place, 

 thiidting that they thus in part avoid diseases. 



Mr. Derby thiiught blight was the result of 

 excessive heat after heavy rains, or sudden and 

 severe changes of weather in general; after blight 

 appeal's, lice often follow. 



Mr. Crosby remarked that blight usually made 

 its appearance first on the driest parts of the 

 field, and thought lice were the cause. 



Mr. Tapley, cited two lots side by side plautcnl 

 with Onions. On one Onions had been grown 

 for several yeai's, but nf)t upon the other; the 

 new land was not affected by blight, while on the 

 old lot blight was general. Mr. Taylor on the 

 contrary had grown Onions many years on the 

 same land with no difficulty from disease. 



Some Experiences as a Fruit Grower 

 and Exhibitor at Fairs. 



[Abstract of paper by " Blank Cartridge " before the 

 joint meetiny of the Missouri Valley and Douyla.i.^ 

 County (Kan.) Horticultural Societies, Oct. If).] 



Twenty-one years ago I entered into the 

 orcliard business with an energy and deter- 

 mination to succeed tliat an insatiable appe- 

 tite for tine fruit can only inspire. Planted 

 about twenty-five acres witli about twenty- 

 five varieties, and for "greatest display 

 grown by e.xhibitor " can defy almost any 

 orchard ot the same size in America. 



Cropping the Land. Following older heads 

 the first year, I cultivated low crops, such as 

 Cabbage, Potatoes, rabbits and borers. All did 

 well— especially rabbits and borers. 



Second year drilled wheat north and south, 

 lea\'ing six feet for working trees. Secured 

 good gi'owth of wood, twelve bushels wheat and 

 an ample crop of borers. 



Third crop was corn, culti\'ating trees as a row 

 of corn leaving about seven feet open space 

 running north and south. 



Next three crops were wheat, corn, and oats, 

 always leaving seven or eight feet north and 

 south along the rows. 



Then, following the theory of low crops for 

 three years, clover, gophers and codlin moth, 

 succeeded by wheat. The gophei's were dis- 

 posed of with small ptitatoes prime<l with ar- 

 senic dropped into the front doors of their man- 

 .sitms. Then for three years low crops — clover, 

 field mice, grasshoppers and katy-dids. Each a 

 success in its line. 



These were followed by wheat, oats and millet 

 to the present time. 



I know objections will be raised to such a 

 course, "but fools rush boldly in where angels 

 scarcely dare to tread." Good growth was 

 made, and I have discovered no disadvantage in 

 such a rotation, except the crops drew plant 

 foofi from the soil faster than the clover re- 

 turned it. A good dressing of fertilizers followed. 



Pruning, The luxuriant groH-th that succeed- 

 ed "cutting back" at planting, necessitated 

 continuous i>runing until i>runing has become 

 monotonous and laborious. An experiment on 

 three trees, extending through ten .vears, during 

 which time not a twig was taken away, giving 

 sounder trees and better heads, has satisfied me 

 that Nature prunes more wisely than man, and 

 that the eternal ijruning system is detrimental 

 to our orchards. All pruning is best done in the 

 bud; the thumli-nail the only knife needed. 



When I began, the cry went up as the " cry of 

 one man " for " low heads " for fruit trees. It 

 would secure our trees against high winds and 

 sun scald; and to a man with no experience and 

 no reason it looked reasonable, and as one of 

 that cla,ss I adopted and practiced the theory. 

 Yes, I have low heads. 



The Kansas and Missouri State Societies ought 

 to employ a few laminated-steel-rebounding- 



