ISO 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



April, 



" '!'<::;;- .^EINGMATTER'mAT DESERVES 

 ftV - TO BC WIDELY KHOWH^ 



_jg;gj^ The cost of cultivating 

 Grapes in California vine- 

 yards is by Dr. Hiissman 

 put at $2U per acre : the 

 yield a-s ranginf? from 

 three to ten tons pel" acre. 

 %-^js Looking Ahead. Ship- 



ping and marketing at a 

 profit requires pre\ious 

 preparation in making arrangement with home 

 dealers, selecting points to ship to when the home 

 market is over-stocked, and getting special ex- 

 press rates, etc.— »Socit(y HeiJort. 



Behold the Lilies. Ever since the weaver has 

 applied his art, whether in silk or wool, or cotton, 

 he has embellished his goods with representations 

 of foliage and blossoms, and fruit, and the same 

 is true of most all other decorations outside. 



ITo Wine for Him. The e.xtensive vineyardist, 

 T. S. Hubliurd, of Fredonia, N. Y., told the Am- 

 erican H(jrticultural Society recentl.v that he 

 preferred to eat his Grapes, and not to drink the 

 juice in the form of wine. The remark was re- 

 ceived with great applause. 



The One Thing Needful. Many a laud owner 

 who calls himself enterprising and who raises 

 good crops forgets that with a few hours' work 

 he could i)lant a dozen trees that would greatly 

 enhance the value of his cstiite, and yield bless- 

 ings of beaut.v long after he has passed away.— 

 Geo. M. Whiliiker. 



Young People in the Society. Uur young 

 people shoiUd be encouraged to join the Society. 

 It will not be very long before the mantle will 

 fall on their shoulders and they should be ready 

 to take up their work. Besides, correct horticul- 

 tural practice is most easily acquired, and proper 

 habits are more readily formed by young people 

 in the formative period of character; therefore 

 let us encourage the young people of both sexes 

 to become horticulturists.— Presidt/if Heynokls, 

 of DouuUt,'<>< Co. (Ka^.) Society. 



Borers and Wood Peckers. The round-headed 

 borers are being waked up at this season of the 

 year by Guinea the woodpecker, which makes 

 its entire meals of the larva of wood-eating 

 beetles. I have watched them on the trunks of 

 Apple trees in search of the borers; and have also 

 seen them industriously pecking away there until 

 they found the worm. The bill of this little bird 

 will do a much nicer ji^b than the men whom we 

 hire to cut and slash the bark of our trees. This 

 noble bird should not be killed; it should be en- 

 couraged by leading decayed trees on the farm 

 for them to peck holes in for their winter homes. 

 — 3/r. Dciuiny of Kau.'iatt. 



About the Dewberry. J. Stone of Iowa, in his 

 paper on " The Dewberry," before the California 

 meeting of the American Horticultural Society 

 said am()ng other things that the tip-rooting 

 varieties are better than those which propagate 

 by suckers from the root. The Dewberry en- 

 dures drought well and does best upon sandy 

 soil. Cultivation is the same as for the Black- 

 berry. The Dewberry in a very cold climate 

 needs winter protection by covering with earth. 

 The canes should be tied to stakes or trellises. 

 Mulching is advantageous as a fertiUzer and as a 

 protection in winter. The Lucretia and the 

 Bartlett Mammoth are the two best varieties. 



Horticulture in Minnesota. The following in- 

 teresting statistics were made up from the re- 

 ports of different counties in Minnesota to the 

 Secretary of State: 



Number. 



Apple trees growing, 1886 -174,258 



Apple trees bearing. 1886 188,955 



Bushels of Apples grown, 1886 123,199 



Apple trees growing, 1887 478,742 



Apple trees bearing, 1887 t6(»,926 



Grape-vines in bearing, 1886 89,876 



Pounds Grapes produced, 1886 2116,2U0 



Grape-vines in bearing, 1887 87,171 



Forest trees planted. 1887, on Arbor day ;127,180 



Acres planted during season 3,220 



Kods planted on highways and f anns, 1887 522,837 



Acres forest trees growing In .State 47,431 



Vegetable Seeds too Deep. There is not near 

 so much danger of k)ss l)j' shallow seeding as by 

 deep planting. I planted a quantity of Beet seed 

 last spring and it was an almost entire failure, 

 but where my little bo.v had spilled some on the 

 surface and no effort was made to cover it up, 

 Uccts came up in profusion. All gardeners agree 

 tlyit one of the hardest things to do is to plant 



just deep enough and not too deep. The soil 

 makes some difference as to depth of planting, 

 but I would rather my ( inions were sowed on the 

 top of the ground than half an inch deep. Onion 

 seed accidentally spilled on the top of the ground 

 always grows before that which is sown.— Afr. 

 Kcycn, before the Cliautanqua Co. Society. 



Landscape Gardening and Politics. Speaking 

 of this matter, our cori-espondcnt, N. Robei-tson, 

 before the Ottawa (Can.) Horticultural Society 

 scored a point against the patronage system. He 

 said that often men were employed in this work, 

 who were not qualitied in any other way than in 

 being able to exert a certain amount of influence 

 for the powers that be. In many cases these 

 hands were entirely unfitted for the work. This 

 was especially so in the Stiites. He thought that 

 landscape gardening required a life study to as- 

 sure anything like perfection. The person en- 

 ging in it must also have a natural taste for it; 

 technical training would never answer the same 

 purpose. It took years of practical study and 

 observation to be able to cope with the natural 

 laws and surroundings with which the gardener 

 came in contact, and which often baffled his j udg- 

 ment and experience, and unless he had a natural 

 love for his work he could not succeed. 



Vegetable (xardening. Are not good appetites, 

 good food and good stomachs among life's great- 

 est en.ioymentsV Is there anything in or out of 

 earth, or sea, that contributes so much to that 

 great desideratum of happiness as the vegetable 

 garden? It is the first place in spring, the last in 

 autumn, and the base of most pleasant remem- 

 brances during the winter, as the mind reverts 

 from Sweet Potato, Celery and Squash pie on the 

 table to the time of anticipation felt from seed 

 time to harvest. S(une of our fruit-growers may 

 feel like claiming superiority for their products. 

 I would not separate the fruits from other vege- 

 tables or make a comparison, but have them con- 

 stitute an adjunct without which the vegetable 

 garden is incomplete. One is a necessity, one 

 may be a necessit.v or it ma.v be a luxury; <.)ne is 

 the piincipal food, the other mainly dessert. But 

 what shall be said to stimulate vegetable garden- 

 ing for health and profit? Our laud is fast being 

 occupied by the tiUer of the soil. Our growing 

 population is fast building great towns and cities 

 where thousands live that of necessity must de- 

 pend upon the market gardener. There is more 

 money in the vegetable garden to-day than in 

 the farm or orchard, or small fruit garden or 

 vineyard. More money will be realized in the 

 future of our state by vegetable gardeners than 

 by any other class of soil cultivators. This fact 

 is fast becoming apparent and must result in en- 

 terprises of great v.ilue to the state.— E. J. Hol- 

 mait, before the Kaitsas State Society. 



Ornamentation of Public School Grounds, Dr. 



Richard Edwards, Superintendent of Public In- 

 struction, Springfield, presented a pajier on this 

 subject, of which the following is a synopsis: We 

 shoidd plant trees in school yards for the same 

 reason that we do anywhere, but, as a rule, will 

 be more permanently and effectually felt if en- 

 joyed by children, than by older persons. We 

 should plant trees because our streams, formerly 

 so marked a feature of prairie landscape, are 

 dr.ving up and being obliterated. This is due to 

 the destruction of forests and other forms of 

 vegetation. Trees at least equalize rain-fall; 

 they furnish protection against violence of 

 storms and severe winds. Trees appeal to the 

 love of the beautiful. While older people ap- 

 preciate the value of tree-planting, children can 

 easily be taught it. Trees contribute to children's 

 welfare at school: By furnishing harmless and 

 pure pleasure; by contributing to the child's 

 health; anything which helps to develop sound, 

 wholesome bodies is at this time inexpressibly 

 valuable. Trees furnish shelter in summer and 

 winter, equaUzing heat and cold. Trees also ab- 

 sorb n^ixious gases and help supply oxygen. They 

 are educational, as they cultivate the senses of 

 seeing, hearing and feeling. It is easier to learn 

 by the sense of perception than from books. 

 Aesthetic faculties would be educated, as in 

 Nature we find the ideal of beauty. Pleasure 

 health and education can be aided by teaching 

 how to plant. Arbor day should be observed. If 

 children plant their own trees in the school yard 

 they will not injure them. Children learn the 

 lesson that all worthy rewards are not obtained 

 iramediatel.v— iu short, foresight. 



Improvement in Flowers. A few years ago 

 the Carnation was much smaller, confined to a 

 few shades of color, sh(!rt-stemmed, and in every 

 way inferior to the same flower to-day. The 

 Verbena, that fa\"orite bedding plant, that now 



forms a variegated carpet of almost every hue 

 but golden was, when first brought into cultiva- 

 tion, a small flower, small cluster, and only scar- 

 let in color. And the fragrant double Tuberose 

 was, at first, a very tall stock with a few scatter- 

 ing single flowers; now the blossoms are double, 

 much larger and numerous, with a much shorter 

 stalk. So, also, the Hollyhock, that favorite of 

 our mothers and grandmothers. Its tall stalk 

 and scattered, mostl.v single flowers, has given 

 place to a stalk less than a yard in height, crowded 

 from base to summit with its double flowers of 

 clear shades and beautiful forms. And the lovely 

 Pansies we can grow from a packet of mixed 

 seeds! Once they were only the little old-fashioned 

 Johnny-jump-up. But the little daughter of the 

 Earl of Tankerville determined to have in a bed 

 every differently-marked Johnny-jump-upViolet 

 that grew in her father's gardens. Seeds from 

 her bed produced still other forms, colors and 

 markings that attracted the attention of flower- 

 lovers. Later English, French and German 

 societies offered premiums for the best Pansies, 

 as they began to be called. The improvement 

 grew until this little flower has developed into 

 an offspring clad in velvety-purple and gold, and 

 mahogany, and crimson, blue, cream and coal 

 black, pure white, and six times as large as the 

 parent. And the Chrysanthmura. Many of us 

 can remember when the purple and yellow only 

 were known, and later a white one, which was 

 considered very fine. To-day we have hundreds 

 of varieties of every shade but blue and black, 

 and with petals fringed, quilled, flat, twisted, 

 long and short, broad and narrow, incurved and 

 recurved, double, siagle.— Mrs. M. F. Stewart, 

 before the Kati.<<ag State Society. 



Tricks of Trade. 



IPresidt'tit Parker Earl, before the American Horti- 

 cultural Society's California Meeting.} 



Oue grave reason why the building up of 

 a regular procUice trade is more clifflcult 

 than it should be is the Irregular quality 

 and serious imperfections of a majority of 

 the products sent to market. 



Both the dealers and consumers soon get dis- 

 gusted when they find half the Peaches in a bas- 

 ket or half the Apples in a barrel wormy; and 

 in the case of the Peaches find all of them green, 

 hard, and unedible below the top layer; and even 

 the top course seeming ripe and well colored 

 only when seen through the delusive tarletan 

 which is bound tight o\ er them. A basket of 

 green Peaches with a goodly supjily of work, 

 and with sizable specimens placed on top and 

 then all covered tightly and beyond examina- 

 tion by a colored netting which makes them all 

 appear blushing witli ripeness, is a cheat and a 

 fraud that should consign the perpetrator of the 

 swindle to the county jaU. It is only equaled 

 by a barrel of Apples that is faced uij handsome- 

 ly at both ends and is filled with scabby and 

 wormy scrubs through the middle. 



I regret to say that such baskets of Peaches 

 and such barrels of Apples are forced off upon 

 an innocent buying public by hundreds of 

 thousands every year. I think and hope that 

 the most abused fruit market in the world in 

 this respect is that best of all fruit markets of 

 the world, the city of Chicago. I will venture 

 the guess here of all the millions of people that 

 have this year bought Peaches coming through 

 the Chicago market, not one in tour has had oc- 

 casion to bless the grower of the fruit; and in 

 most cases has been abjurated, if not cursed. I 

 dwell particularly upon this kind of fruit, and 

 this kind of package, because it is the most not- 

 able kind of example of a wide-spread attempt 

 to deceive the buyer to be found in all our fruit 

 marketing history. 



It will not be a good excuse to say that red 

 tarletan is necessary to hold the fruit in place in 

 the baskets, because white netting with a very 

 open mesh will serve that purpose equaUj" well 

 and will not obscure the real color. And no 

 well colored Peach can be made more beautiful 

 by any kind of covering. Is it any wonder that 

 first-class grocers dislike to trade in fresh fruits ? 



I am a fruit-grower, a fruit-packer and a 

 fruit-buyer, and I stand here in all three capaci- 

 ties to protest in all the earnestness of my soul 

 against all kinds of deception in fruit-packing. 

 It is impoUtic in the highest degree and it is un- 

 worth.\' <it all decent men. A large dealer not 

 long suice said to me that the whole business of 

 fruit-packing, east and west, north and south, 

 with now and then aii exception, is worm-eaten 

 and rotten with dishonestj'. Mj' friends I be- 



