148 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



April, 



Arbor Day Song. 



O Soug for the beautiful trees, 



O song for the forest graud. 



The garden of CJod's own hand, 

 The pride of his eeutnries. 

 Hurrah ! for the forest Oak, 



For the Maple, the forest queen. 

 For the lords of the emerald cloak. 



For the ladles In living green. 

 A song for the Plane, the Pine, 



And for every tree that grows 



From the desolate zone of snows 

 To the zone of the burning line. 

 Hurrah ! for the Beech tree trim. 



For the Hickory staunch at core. 

 For the Locust, thorn.v and grim. 



For the Silvery Sycamore. 

 So long as the rivers flow. 



So long as the mountains rise. 



May the forests sing to the skies 

 And Shelter the earth below. 

 Hurrah ! for the beautiful trees ! 



Hurrah ! for the forest grand. 

 The pride of his centuries. 



The garden of God's own hand. 

 —W.H. 



Easter Lilies. 



The Easter Lilies, tall and slight.^ 

 With golden anthers gleaming. 



Within their waxen bosoms white. 

 Of holy things are dreaming. 



And stirring softly, say apart:— 

 " Blessed are the piu-e in heart." 



— Jeftsie F. O'Donnell in Chautauqtian. 



The sky was bright and glad the day. 

 To gentle spring he sang a lay; 

 Next morning when he awoke he found 

 A foot of snow upon the ground. 



— Boston Courier. 



Peas will sprout at Vt degrees. 



Start ill with 11 " slieli " dooryard. 



Raspberry plants are often set too deep. 



If only Her Majesty Kose was more fragrant. 



Raised flower beds suffer first from drought. 



Arbor Day. !<harc in making it a greatsuccess. 



Cold April drafts on indoor Roses invite mildew. 



To have extra-tine flowers remove half the 

 buds. 



For quality cut Asparagus at the ground's 

 surface. 



Keep the manure near the surface; its strength 

 will go down. 



Liquid manure would now prove acceptable to 

 many pot plants. 



The importance of having a finely pulverized 

 seed bed is yet too much underrated. 



"Brutus," the cardinal tinted Geranium, is be- 

 lieved by some to be the coming bedder. 



Plants for schools or school children are spec- 

 ially offered by some dealers. This weUketosee. 



Some use can be found for the Virginia Creep- 

 er on every place. It is superb forthe veranda. 



Plant Trees, If you cau't afford to buy large 

 ones jirocure small ones and nurse them yourself. 



" Best one of a hundred varieties " is what a 

 Maryland glower of Watermelons calls Kolb's 

 Gem. 



Hocking Birds and Grapes. In this State 

 (Florida) mocking birds are very destructive to 

 Grapes.— 11'. C. Steele. 



Without extra care as to summer watering 

 terraces are unsatisfactory as ornamental fea- 

 tures of the lawn in the average season. 



In arranging a mixed border the object should 

 be the production of masses and sheets of bloom 

 in the dwarf jilaiits and picturesque groups with 

 the larger plants. 



Brussels Sprouts. Do you grow them/ If not 

 you miss a most tender and deUcious vegetable. 

 The culture is as simple as that of Cabbage or 

 Cauliflower, excejjt that the plants are not 

 quite .so hard} . The small heads on the stem are 



the edible parts. To be served as one does Cab- 

 bage or Cauliflower. 



Native Orchids. Why long for the costly 

 exotic species, when our native sorts are both 

 ornamental and interesting. If lifted in early 

 spring, and carefully potted without delay, 

 Cypripediuras or Lady Slippers will succeed 

 without difficulty. Use peaty soil, water freely, 

 and grow in slight, almost steady shade. 



Cherish the Toads, " I honestly think," says 

 T. D. English, " that a healthy and able-bodied 

 toad, of industrious habits, will get away with 

 and digest his own weight of insects during 

 twenty-four hours. If you be of an insecticidal 

 turn of mind, turn out by daylight and watch 

 the toads getting breakfast. It is entertaining." 



Women and Horticulture. We do ncjt now re- 

 call a single instance of a woman who has en- 

 tered into the field of flower, vegetable and 

 fruit growing for profit having failed at the bus- 

 iness. We know to the contrary of many who 

 have in these pursuits achieved the most pro- 

 nounced success. Among Buffalo market gar- 

 deners many a woman furnishes the brains that 

 makes the garden work decidedly profitable. 



The double-pointed fence nail shown figured 

 on this page is as effective in rendering a fence 

 perfectly unclimbable as it is uncompromising 

 in its character. The engra\ingis made after an 

 English pattern, and which is described as being 

 so formidable that it cannot be mashed by a mit- 

 ten or coat. Its use will be suggestive to anyone 

 who, especially in a \illage, has fruits to protect. 

 A is the hammerhead, h the chisel edge which 

 enters the wood. 



Increase the Circulation, If, each friend of 

 Popular Gardening and Fruit Growing, 

 would favor the publishers with the names and 

 addresses of other friends who cultivate fruits, 

 flowers and vegetables, a specimen of the paper 

 would gladly be sent to each with a view to their 

 becoming subscribers. Such an act would also 

 be much appreciated on our part. A suggestion: 

 One dozen names or more can easily be brought 

 down on one postal card. 



Insect Powder Plants. Pyrethrums, (P. cinera- 

 foHum and P. roscum) trom which the safest of 

 aU insect powders is made, can easily be raised 

 from seed, and this may be procured from many 

 dealers. But the plants which are perennial in 

 nature are not hardy enough to stand our win- 

 ters except In favored spots; they could be win- 

 tered in cold frames. The powder consists of 

 the flowers finely ground, but the unground 

 flowers made into a simple tea are effective for 

 destroying scale and many other insects. 



Rawson on Market (iaidening. This work 

 deals more especiall,',- with the methods in vogue 

 in that center of good gai'dening, Boston, Mass. 

 It is therefore adapted to latitudes somewhat 

 further north than those from which have come 

 most of the other American works on this sub- 

 ject. Its author, Mr. W. W. Kawson, is the most 

 extensive market gardener in New England, and 

 his successful gardens located at Arlington 

 have attracted wide notice. Those who are in- 

 terested in vegetable growing will find here facts 

 collected from a long experience, which can 

 hardly fail to be valuable to the reader. Two 

 hundred and eight pages. Price, gl, postpaid. 

 The book can be furnished from this office. 



Hyacinths in Washington Territory. Ten 

 years ago a friend in New York sent me some 

 Hyacinths of his own importing. They were 

 fine bulbs and bloomed beautifully from the first, 

 but have improved both in size and number of 

 bells, and continued to hold that improvement. 

 Some multiply fast, especially some shades of 

 blue and red. each producing two or three bloom- 

 ing bulbs. The offshoots make blooming bulbs 

 in one, or at most, two years. Some of the finest, 

 however, increase very slowly. I take them up 

 ever.v year as soon as the tops are dead, and keep 

 in a cool dark place till October, making the beds 

 up anew each year, and changing location occa- 

 sionally; but some who never move them ha\e 

 very good flowers. Hardy bulbs of all kinds do 

 well here, especially Lilies.— Fan /ly i,'. Briyys. 



Deep Covering tor Peas. I, with my neigh- 

 bors, alwajs had trouble in having our Pea 

 vines unproducti\c, and I concluded it was the 

 fault of the planting. Having been accustomed 

 to shallow covering on my seed, I concluded 

 finally to make some drills deep and some shal- 

 low. The shallow drills of course weie up the 

 soonest, but the yield of the others was ."ill per 

 cent more than the former. The Pea reiiuires 

 considerable dampness, and by deep planting 

 the gr()uncl at the rocjts retains the moisture. 



Double-Pointed 

 Fence Nail. 



of turjientine 



which is impossible by shallow drilling. I now 

 always have Peas when in fact my neighbors' 

 crops fail during a season that is dry. I have 

 tried the two methods and know from exiieri- 

 ence that shallow planting is not profitable for 

 the kitchen gardener.— J. H'. P., ZodViiopic, Pa. 



Rustic Work Material. The roots of the Laurel 

 are very useful tor trimming material. Those 

 of the Sweet Briar are also suitable. They are 

 gnarled and very much twisted, but, when per- 

 fectly cleansed, make a fantastic ornamentation. 

 A coat of copal varnish is what is needed after 

 they are worked up for giving 

 them a handsome look. The 

 roots and boughs of the Wild 

 Grape-vine afford excellent ma- 

 terial for rustic decoration. The 

 bark should not be taken off un- 

 less very ragged, when it should 

 be peeled away with care, not re- 

 moving an.v more than is nec- 

 essary. By peeling this way the 

 stem becomes varicolored. In 

 any case where a deeper color 

 than the natural wood is desired 

 take two ounces of gum asphal- 

 tum and dissolve it in half a pint 

 Dr coal oil. Apply this with a 

 brush, two coats if one is not dark enough. 



Raising Elms from Seed, A good way is to 

 dig over and rake smooth, about the middle of 

 Ma,v, a large circle round some Elm which 

 abounds in seed. This should be first ascer- 

 tained, for the Elm does not produce seed every 

 year. After the seeds have fallen they must be 

 raked in, and within ten or fifteen days the 

 young plants will appear. It would be best to 

 manure the ground or cover it with rich loam 

 pre\ious to the falling of the seed, which would 

 insure an abundance of plants. They will grow 

 several inches high before the autumnal frosts 

 kill the leaves, and then, or in the following 

 spiing, they may be transplanted into the nur- 

 sery. The seeds can also be swei>t into piles and 

 then collected in baskets. Then they can be at 

 once sown in drills, and will grow five or six 

 inches in height the first season.— GfH. Dearborn. 



Fitting Strawberry Ground. A recent article 

 on planting Strawberries leads me to make a 

 suggestion; that, is to fit all the ground wanted 

 at once as early in the season as the ground is fit 

 to work. First plow carefully, then harrow- 

 thoroughly, and float down with a clod crusher. 

 Ktted in this way, the planting can be done at 

 any time up to May 15th, with a pretty good cer- 

 tainty of finding a moist firm soil to put the roots 

 in. If the weeds have started a little, scrape them 

 away with the trowel, and the next day hoe be- 

 tween and around the plants, cultivating through 

 the rows as soon after as possible. The main 

 trouble with late setting of Strawberries is that 

 the ground is imperfectly fitted in a drying day, 

 after the spring rains are over, and the plants do 

 not get moisture enough to commence growth. 

 —L.B. Pierce^ Summit Co.^ Ohio. 



Strawberries in Florida. The Newman is not 

 as large as the Shai'pless or Jersey Queen, but it 

 will average as large as Wilson's Albany grown 

 side by side. It is also a much more productive 

 and profitable variety in Florida. I have experi- 

 mented carefully with the following varieties: 

 Atlantic, Crescent, Cumberland Triumph, Capt. 

 Jack, Chas. Downing, Countess, Daniel Boone, 

 Glendale, Indiana, Jas. Vick, Jumbo, Kentucky, 

 Lacon, Longfellow, Manchester, Miner's Prolific, 

 Iron Clad, Sharpless, Sucker State, Warren, Wil- 

 son's Albany. None of these are worth planting 

 in this state for market, and only the Indiana is 

 desirable for general cultivation for home use. 

 The Federal Point is a Florida seedling, but is 

 never called Little Giant so far as I know, and I 

 get all the nursery and dealers' price lists. It is 

 not a large berry, and is too soft for shipping to 

 market, and is only recommended for home use 

 on account of its sui>crior bloom.— 11'. C. Steele. 



Points in Zinnia Culture. Few plants equal 

 the Double Zinnias for making effective beds of 

 bloom. The seeds should be sttwn in March or 

 April, and the seedlings transplanted once be- 

 fore remo\nng to the open ground, which should 

 not be done until danger of frost is past. Plant 

 out temporaiily at about six inches apart, and 

 as the first flowers appear select the finest double 

 specimens, lifting with a ball of earth attached 

 to the roots, remove them to where they are to 

 flower, setting at eighteen inches apart each 

 way. I have observed that there aie two kinds 

 of seeds in a Zinnia. One (Fig. a) has pistil and 

 petal attached but no stamen, and generally 



