i888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



Cold Storage. Mr. P. B. Crandall, Ithaca. X. Y., 

 in a paper suggested that liuildinRS like milk- 

 houses used in the West seem to offer perfect 

 iHinditions for the preservation of fruit, as the 

 variation in temperature from .50° does not ex- 

 i-eed .'J", though out-of-doors it may range from 

 1 10° above to 40° below zero. The required con- 

 ditions for success in this matter being simply a 

 building in which temperature and atmosphere 

 is under control, a perfect condition of the fruit 

 when placed therein, a temperature low enough 

 to prevent ripening, yet not so low (32° or under) 

 as to cause suspension of natural forces. The 

 use of ice has in many Instances proven unsatis- 

 factory, is not absolutely required, and the fruit 

 when removed decays quickly. 



In the discussion it was i-ecommended that 

 fruit be left outside on the north side of build- 

 ings as long as possible before putting in the 

 pre8er\'ing house. Houses above surface were 

 preferred to underground cellars, as in the latter 

 fruit is liable to be tainted. 



Pear Culttire; Blight. Hooker, Kochester. 

 Plenty of manure i-equired. Fire blight seems to 

 disappear under the use of launders' remedy, 

 composed of one peck lime, ten povuids sulphur 

 and one ounce carbolic acid. The tree trunks are 

 washed in it in May, and alter blossoms fall it is 

 used to spray the foliage. 



Moody, Lockport, had also used it successfully 

 on an orchard of ten thousand trees, mostly 

 Bartletts, though the KeifEer had of late been the 

 most profitable. Anjou not doing so well as 

 formerly. 



Willard, Geneva. Keiffer highly esteemed in 

 Philadelphia market. Profitable. Barry, Roches- 

 ter, did not believe that the Keiffer is the coming 

 Pear. Is not of high quality and thought that 

 where a market for such a grade existed, the 

 outlook for the future of a high grade was flatter- 

 ing indeed. Of winter sorts, Lawrence is early 

 and good. Vicar, can be kept till Ajiril. Joseph- 

 ine, splendid variety, good grower, high vitality. 

 Winter Nellis, with highest culture, and Anjou 

 are the best, all points considered. 



Smith, Ss'racuse. Salts the ground under the 

 trees after snow leaves, as a Ciu-culio remedy. 



FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. 



Hovel Form of Ventilator. The ventilator 

 herewith illustrated, and recently described in 

 La Nature, should be of use for improving the 

 draft of greenhouse furnaces, flues, etc.. as weU 

 as of drying houses. It is constructed on the 

 same principle as the steam injector, used for 

 feeding water into steam boilers. It consists of 

 a revolving cap provided with a vane which 

 turns it away from the wind. Inside the cap is a 

 tube with an exterior opening, through which 

 the wind blows in the direction of the arrows. 

 This current induces another current in an up- 

 ward direction through the chimney, just as the 



A NEW FORM OF VENTILATOR, 

 jet of steam passing through an injector carries 

 along with it a stream of water. A more famil- 

 iar illustration of the same principle Ls seen in 

 the common perfume atomizer, in which a cur- 

 rent of ail-, jiassin? across the to)) of a tube dip- 

 ping into the pert'ume. draws the liquid up 

 through the tube, and blows it into a fine spray. 

 As this form of ventilator is not dependent upon 



a current of heated air from the fire, it is also 

 applicable to the ^'entilation of closed chambeiN. 

 vaults, and similar phu-es where otfensi^■e or dan- 

 gerous gases are present. The principal disad- 

 vantage is that it does not operate in calm 

 weather ; but there are only a very few days 

 when there is not sufficient wind to cause more 

 or less air to pa.ss through it. 



Forcing Vegetables, lihuharh. Lift some 

 stools and pack them into square boxes or tubs, 

 take to a con\'enient place and place round them 

 some fermenting manure, and keep it dark. A 

 spacious stoke-hole is a good place to force it and 

 to dispense with manure. If this position should 

 be adopted, care must be taken that the stooLsdo 

 not get dry, which they are liable to do in such a 

 dry atmosphere. Leaves will answer the same 

 purpose as fermented manure. After the stools 

 have finished scr\-ice in either of the before-men- 

 tioned places, they may be taken out of the 

 receptacles and returned to their old quarters 

 outside and covered with ashes. .SVa/fa7t', too, is 

 simple to force, and it is surpiising to me it is not 

 more extensively grown than is really the case. 

 All that is required is to lift some plants, pack in 

 boxes or tubs, and place them in a bed of fer- 

 menting leaves ; drive a post into each corner of 

 the box or tub, fl.\ to that some wire netting, 

 about two feet in height, and cover the whole 

 with leaves, or a pit ma.v be dug in the ground, 

 sufficiently large to let in the box and some leaves 

 to pack around them. Mushroomft, If a b<)x is 

 filled with ordinary stable manure, over that 

 some soil, spawn it, and make firm in the usual 

 way, it can either he jjlaced in the stokehole or 

 outhouse, and will do remarkably well ; also, a 

 succession can be kept up almost the year rouud 

 by this treatment. AsiMiayus can also be suc- 

 cessfully forced by filling a box with leaves, on 

 which place some stable litter, and pack the roots 

 upon this and cover with soil. Pe(u^, if sown in 

 long naiTow bo.xes, the same width as the drills 

 generally are outside, will be ready to put out- 

 side before the ones sown in the drills, if the 

 spring is fa\orable. If not. place the boxes out- 

 side against a sheltered wall, and allow them to 

 develop themselves in that position, where they 

 will come in nuich earlier. The market gardener 

 will find thLs method profitable with very little 

 trouble.— Ixindon Hortic\iltural Times. 



Preventing Fire-fang. To prevent manure 

 from flre-fangiug make holes in the heap and 

 pour cold water in them. Manure must heat if 

 it decomposes, and water will often hasten the 

 process, but when it becomes so heated as to fire- 

 fang the result will be a loss. Frequent turning 

 over of the heap, which exposes it to the air, 

 cools it. A pint of sulphuric acid in a pail of 

 water sprinkled through the mass with some 

 suitable vessel will decompose it and also prevent 

 loss.— Practical Farmer. 



Fertilizers for Strawberries. The StrawbeiTy 

 plants will Ix'gin to grow as soon as the frost shall 

 be out of the ground, and now is an excellent 

 time to fertilize them. A mi.xture of wood ashes 

 and superphosphate is a special fertilizer for 

 Strawberries. Hen manure in a fine condition 

 ma>' also be used, and should be scattered over 

 the plants in time to be washed down by the rains. 

 —Philadelphia Hecord. 



Pruning New or Old Wood. The oldest wood 

 should be taken off in preference t(> that which 

 is newer. If a branch contains a strong, vigorous 

 shoot, leave it and thin imt to allow space for the 

 future. New wood always beai-s the best fruit. 

 When a Peach tree has ceased to bear, the cutting 

 off of the old wood, or that which is partially 

 dead, will give it nc>w life and \igor. It will 

 again begin to bear, and last much longer, pro- 

 vided the trunk is in good condition. The Grape 

 \ ines that have grown to be as thick as a man's 

 arm, sometimes begin to fail. Allow a young 

 cane to begin at the root, train it as you would 

 like to have it, and after it begins to bear cut 

 away all the old vine and you will have a fresh, 

 youthful vine that will begin to bear large quan- 

 tities of Grapes, and you will thus have the ad- 

 vantage of new wood with plent.v of roots as 

 feeders. Encourage the growth of new wood. 

 Many trees and vines fail because twigs and 

 young wood are cut olT, learing the old, when 

 the projier course should be to allow the new to 

 grow and in time be substituted for the old.— 

 Farm. Field and Fireside. 



Purifying Manure. We object to putting ma- 

 nure on our soil without being purified, and this 

 is \ery important in all cases. Lime must ni'\er 

 be used in doing it. Salt and soot are the two 

 best purifiers, and' a quantity of one or both 



should \<e used in all mixed manure heaps. The 

 manun- ma.v all he mixed together first, then 

 throw soot over the top and begin turning the 

 heap over. As this goes on, throw more soot in 

 the center, and work it in so that it will reach all 

 parts. Salt may be used in the siune way, only 

 not in such large ipiantities, and if all who are 

 troubled with worms in their soil, or at the 

 roots of plants, would ailopt thLs plan, they 

 would very soon be gratified with the results.— 

 .lournal of Horticultuiv. 



A New Method of Glazing. It is practiced by 

 W. .\. Hammond, a llori.st of Richmond, Va. 

 The rafters are plain bars, 2Hx2 inches without 



A NEW METHOD OF GLAZING. 



rabbets, the glass being held in place by small 

 triangular pieces of sheet lead, one edge of 

 which is bent over to hold the glass from slip- 

 ping. A %-inch bra.ss nail is driven (by a nail set 

 with a hollow in the end, so it cannot slip) 

 through the center of the lead, which holds the 

 glass secure. The rafters are placed 16)^ inches 

 from center to center— the glass being 12x16— 

 which leaves a crack of !^-inch on the bar, to be 

 filled up with the white lead and putty mixture. 

 This makes a very tight and light roof. Mr. H. 

 states that broken lights can be very easily re- 

 placed, and that all outside painting necessary is 

 two inches of the riilge pole and the ventilators : 

 aUso that the method saves one-half in labor and 

 putty over the usual way. The sheet lead used 

 is what tinners call " :i-pound lead "—that is, 

 there are three pounds to the square foot. Zinc 

 is too stiff.— -American Florist. 



Horticulture and Temperance. It is reported 

 that of the several hundred people who attended 

 the Autumn meeting in Boston of the American 

 Pomological Society, none patronized barrooms. 

 There is no better drink cure, we sincerely believe, 

 than fruit eating. Liquids are not pleasant after 

 eating fruit. Did you ever drink water after 

 eating an Apple? It did not have a pleasant 

 taste if you did. If the drunkard could be in- 

 duced to eat plenty of fruit he would break the 

 grip of this appetite. No doubt of it. The fruit 

 eater, as a rule, is a man of excellently balanced 

 character, who has gfiod control of himself. 

 Look over your fruit-eating acquaintances and 

 see if that is not true. -Western Rural. 



Successful Pansy Culture, Pansies can be easily 

 giown from the seed planted in pans containing 

 a lew inches of earth. Start them in the house 

 from February to April, and if you have a cold 

 frame, keep them growing in it until the warm 

 days come in early spring; gradually let them 

 become accustomed to the open air, and trans- 

 jilant into a bed somewhat later. If flowers are 

 wanted in the spring months, give them plenty 

 of sun and water; but if you want flowers in 

 summer, and even until the;j:round freezes, com- 

 mence picking off the buds as they appear, and 

 keep the plants shady during the hot August 

 days. :ind when September comes .vou will have 

 a bed full of strong healthy plants whose blooms 

 will delight your eyes as do few of our garden 

 flowers. You prei>are for them a soil composed 

 of one part old cow manure, two parts good loam 

 and one part ol leaf niolil, with a little sand 

 thrown in; stirall thoroughly together, and some 

 morning you will see your Pansies laughing at 

 you as their roots penetrate far down into this 

 rich bed. However, any moderately rich and 

 thoroughly dug-over garden soil is quite good 

 enough for you to become an expert in Pansy 

 culture. Sele<t for your lied some spot where' 

 the sun \vill strike the lied two or three hours in 

 the morning and then ieavo it for the day, as too 

 much sun burns the life out of plantsand mater- 

 ially reduces the size of the blossoms. In selettt- 

 ing your .seeds be sure and get some of the pure 

 white, and also of jet velvety black. In set- 

 ting out the plants, mix these together and n 

 Iileasing contrast will be shown as the blooms 

 appear. As to the other colors, there are so many 



