1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



157 



68(1. Flams, Free and Cline Stone. Wild Goose, 

 I'linjf; Miiii_'r, Sfini-L-Iinjr; Lombard, free; De 

 Soto, said to Ix' free, liilt is not nvhto so; Sfuqiio- 

 kct«, I don't knoH-.-.^. M. 



(1711. Peach Stones. Franklin Davis, Hichinond, 

 Va., can supply the Peach stones, but if th<'y 

 ha^•e been out of the ground all winter, they will 

 not Krow unless severely scalded and left in soak 

 some da.^•s; then cracked and the kernels ]ilanted 

 is the only chance. S. HI. 



tits). Crabs for Stocks. I lune ne\er tried it, but 

 cannot see why it should not answer well, as the 

 Hewes crab is a healthy, hardy, lon^-li\-etl tree, 

 and a fair frrowcr.— .'^. M. 



i<M. Apples Falling Prematurely. If it is not 

 the t'odlinjf Moth that makes the Apples ilroji 

 preniatuivly, there is .something wantin;; in the 

 soil. If the land is jiroi^erly drained, and he K'i\-es 

 the soil a lujood dres^^in^ of wood ashes and Time, 



1)rune u few while in blossom as an experiment, 

 have seen the Siime thing occasionally, but 

 caused by excessive wet weather. If a tree acted 

 that way with me c>ver five years it would loose 

 its head and a better one put onby jrrafting.— S.M. 



SSI. Mortgages and Frnit Culture. If you 

 ha\'e had considerable practical experience in the 

 cultivation of fruit, and ha\'e usuall.v succeeded 

 in making the crops profitable, you could sjifely 

 mortjirage your farm for a small amcnnit for the 

 purpo.se you refer to. If you know but little 

 about fruit culture, don't do anj thing of the 

 kind until you learn the full details of the busi- 

 ness from some one who has succeeded in making 

 it pay.— r. E. P. 



•138. Preserving drape Juice. All that is 

 needed is the processes applied to fruit canning, 

 and this best of all beverages comes out pure and 

 fresh, just as you open a can of Peaches or To- 

 matoes. The natural juice may be directly 

 heated and canned, or it may first be boiled down 

 by a low degree of heat and then be diluted when 

 opened. A small wine press or a jelley press will 

 answer for pressing out the juice. 



.laT. Propagating Hydrangea paniculata. Cut- 

 tings of the ripened wf>od may be prepared dur- 

 ing the autumn months. Select such shoots as 

 can be spared and cut them into pieces of about 

 ti inches in length, then dibble them thickly into 

 a well sheltered frame or else a bo.x of earth in 

 the cellar, jiutting each cutting down far enough 

 to leave about 2 inches above the surface. If 

 put in rows, the cuttings may be 1 inch apart, 

 leanng 2 inches between each row. Insert them 

 firmly and give them a good watering, leaving 

 the lights off till the superabundant moisture 

 has dried up, when they should be replaced. The 

 cuttings will callus and form roots in the spring. 

 Then put in the open ground, choosing as shel- 

 tered a spot as possible. Another way is to select 

 the cutttings in summer when the shoots are 

 young and growing. Take some 6-inch pots and 

 half fill them with broken crocks, then rill them 

 iiji with sandy soil, pressed moderately firm ; the 

 .soil should be sifted through a sieve with a quar- 

 ter of an inch mesh. The cuttings should be 

 young and succulent shoots cut off at a length of 

 from 4 inches to 6 inches, just removing the bot- 

 tom leaves for the purpose of insertion. In order 

 to j)re\ent fiagging, a small quantity only should 

 Ix? cut off at a time, or it it be necessary to gather 

 a large number, keep the bulk of them co\'ered 

 up till wanted. Do not crowd them too much, 

 otherwise the.v will damp off; and when finished 

 give a thorough watering, enough to settle the 

 soil well around them. Afterwards place them 

 in a close frame till rooted, and see that it is 

 really a close frame, otherwise the cuttings will 

 flag, and when that takes ]ilace the.\' take much 

 longer to root. The lights mu.\- be taken off for 

 a snort time each morning in order to allow the 

 cuttings to be examined and watered if necessary, 

 but they must be replaced before the sun gets 

 powerful, when a mat should be thrown over 

 them, or even two if necessary. Thus treated 

 the.v will soon root, when, if potted off at once, 

 they will get nicel.v estabUsbed in their pots 

 before winter, and in the following spring ma.v 

 be planted out.— A. H. E. 



.593. Scraping Tree Bark. This is an excellent 

 practice if it Ix* not overdone, for harsh .scraping 

 in the spring is unnatural and often injurious. 

 Obviously it is well, after the severity of winter 

 is past, to gi\e the trees a good rubbing, and thus 

 remove the rough bark and mo.ss which serves 

 as a harlxir for insects. But scrai)ing down tn 

 the quick and e.vpfising to the cold winds of early 

 spring must result in injury. A moderatelv 

 strong wiish of potash water f)r soap suds will 

 assist in cleaning the trunk and large branches 

 and in giving a bright green and healtliy appear- 

 ance to the bai-k. but under generous culture 

 this will sclfloin tie found necessary. The prac- 

 tii-c of giving a heavy wash of caustic lime docs 

 not meet w ith the approval of our most advanced 

 orchardists. 



Wl. Soot-grafting Various Trees. There are 

 nurserymen who make a success of root-grafting 

 all these named, except nuts; I know of none that 

 practice that. Plums will do well root-grafted 

 on Peach if small <iM-illinKS arcgrafteil upcin the 

 roots. It is wi'll tosclr.t sound wood that isflnn, 

 and whip or tongue graft.— S. M. 



SOI. Mortgages and Fruit Culture. As a rule 

 we say be slow to mortgage, although there are 

 cases (and yours maj- be one of thcmi in which a 

 small mortgage on a fiuni near a large city 

 market may not pro\ e burdensome. When times 

 of pressure come, as they f recjuently do in these 

 speculative times, the farmer owning a good farm 

 free from debt is t he most independent of men. 

 He can geni'rally raise enough of something to 

 feed his family, if he cannot lay up anything. 

 But if he has interest to meet, and his crops will 

 hardl.\- sell lor enough to |iay the cost of growing, 

 it is pretty hanl work to raise money to iia.v in- 

 terest on mortgages. Again, it is a little hazard- 

 ous idantnig a crop that a great many othei-s are 

 planting. There has been a great increase in 

 (Jrape planting within a few years, and there is 

 danger of a more rapid increase of suppl.v than 

 demand. This has been «'speeially true of "plant- 

 ing White Crapes. It will jirobably all come out 

 right in the end, but there may be a time within 

 the next three or four yeai-s when there will be 

 an over supply of such (irapes in particular. 



67B. Grapes for Profit. Perhaps the majority 

 of those who grow (Jrajies for market make no 

 wine at all. If your soil is well adapted to this 

 crop but few (iraiK'S should be unfit for table or 

 cuUnary use. Such as are not suitable f ( ir market 

 as table Grapes, can usually lie disposed of for 

 canning and other cooking purposes, at a re- 

 duced price. 



1)73. Downing Mulberry. This tree would be 

 found entirely hardy with you on drained land. 



6.S0. Primulas after Bloom. Of the single 

 flowering kinds most growers raise young plants 

 every .year from seeds, and throw the old plants 

 away. The double Primulas, of which there are 

 now many beautiful varieties, are at this season 

 cut to pieces, each cutting having a small crown 

 of leaves. The cuttings are planted firmly in 

 small pots singly, in sandy peat, and plunged in 

 the propagating bed till rooted ; afterwards 



frown on near the glass, and moved to a cold 

 rame in a shady situation in June, shifting them 

 into four or five inch pots. Very choice varieties 

 of the single kinds may be treated in the same 

 way, or they may be shaken out and repotted in 

 pots of the same size, shifting into about six inch 

 pots in July, and growing in cold frames on north 

 side of a building or wall till end of September. 



t)28. Pine Spines and Strawberries. We also 

 have used pine spines or needles for Strawberries 

 with variable results, and the conclusions we 

 have ai'rived at are that they are the best and 

 cheapest winter covering we can get. Care 

 should be taken in the spring to rake off all but 

 sufficient to keep the ground covered so that the 

 dirt will not spatter on the fruit. When the 

 needles are left two or three inches thick they 

 not only absorb the greater part of the rain fall 

 during the fruiting season, when all the water 

 possible should go to the roots, but they absorb 

 a vast amount of heat from the sun's rays, and 

 as the berries grow and bear down on them, the 

 result is parboiled,turpentineytjisting fruit, whUe 

 many of the berries dry up entirely before ripen- 

 ing. Such at least seems to have been the case 

 in several instances that have come under our 

 observation. On dry land or land with a gravelly 

 subsoil I believe one should be quite cautious 

 aliout learing on much covering, but on our 

 heavy retentive soil there is not so much danger. 

 We grow our Strawberries in matted beds, and 

 when the paths are dug out in the spring, some 

 of the needles are drawn out into the paths. 

 This is all that is necessary, as we only cover 

 them about one and one-half to two inches deep 

 in the fall, and by spring they settle down so as 

 not to occupy more than half that thickness.— 

 W. C. Jen.nison, Miiiine.ic.i- Co., ila.<i. 



683. Marechal Neil Rose-buds. It is not un- 

 usual for Rose buds to collapse from two causes; 

 one is an excess of atmospheric mijisture that 

 settles arimnd the bsise of the petals, and this, to- 

 gether with a low temperature, causes the lower 

 part of the petals to decay. The other is that the 

 tree is allowed to bear more flower buds than it 

 can suiiport, and, as a consequence, the growth 

 and Howers advance so far, but, thi- roots not 

 being equal to the .strain, there is a sudden cessa- 

 tion of the \'ital forces flowing up to the flowers, 

 and instead of expanding they decay. You must 

 be the best judge as to which of these causes 

 affects your idant. 



ms. Grafting or Budding. The roots of root- 

 grafted trees are usually poor, and disposed to 

 grow in one direction, gi\'ing the tree poor sup- 

 port. The union between root and graft is often 

 poor, gi\nng ii.se to an abnormal thickening, 

 many weak spr<aits and finally the lU-ath of the 

 tree. Root grafting can be doiic cheajily in win- 

 ter, whUe budding caiuiot, and for this reason is 

 often resorted to. Budded trees on seedling 

 stocks have naturally disposed roots, and the bud 

 is brought in c(tntaet with its corresponding 

 growth— the stem— hence the union is a natural 

 one.— W. H. Mannino. 



611. Golden-leaved Syringa. It is one of the 

 most desirable of colored foliage shrubs, with 

 fragrant white Howers and clear, bright .velkiw 

 foliage; the color la.sting well thrcaigh the season. 

 Like its type the sweet scented Syringa, it d<je8 



well in a great variety of soils and situations. 

 Nursi'ries carrying a large line of ornamental 

 trees and shrubs keep it in stock.— W. H. M. 



A Reader's Conservatory. 



My conservatory is merely a lean-to, size 

 H.\10 feet, with a fi\nss roof on the south side 

 of the (IwellinR liouse. Mut I have well 

 seen I hat to have built at a south enri 

 wiuiid have been niiicli better, a.s then we 

 would not liave been troubled with the 

 icicles. The conservatory floor is one foot 

 lower down than the rof>ni it is off from, 

 and the door-way into it was fornierely a 

 window. I always had a fireat passion for 

 a bay window, but as I had none, and could 

 not get one built on in f;ood sliape, I re- 

 sorted to this plan. 



M'ith having the lloor thus lower than 

 the Hoor of the adjoiniiiK room, water can 

 be used in every way plentifully. One of 

 those dollar hand force pumps is .splendid 

 to throw water or .spray over all the plants 

 at one time, thus killiiiR some insects also. 



The heat is obtained from a stove set in 

 the adjoining room near the doorway, and 

 it warms the plant room sufficiently. The 

 lire is kept up day and night, while on some 

 cold nights, when the mercury is 40° below 

 zero, we .set vessels of hot water in the plant 

 room on the floor. It is always plenty 

 warm at the top, although the roof is only 

 one thickness of glass. 



There is a south and east window, both of 

 which are double glass. These should not 

 reach nearer the floor than 12 inches, tor 

 the light that comes fully to the bottom is 

 nearly wasted. 



The weather here ha.s been so severe, or 

 snappish, that nearly everyone has lost 

 their plants, while mine in this little room 

 have escaped frost, and are looking as 

 healthy and rugged as outdoor plants in 

 the summer. I have had flowers all winter 

 in bloom, and at present (Feb. 38th) have 

 Callas, Roses, Stevia, Sweet Alyssum, Cro- 

 cuses, Hyacinths and Ageratum. This last 

 has blossomed freely in a small sized tin 

 can, one that oysters came in, and it is very 

 nice to pick up for cut flowers. Bulbs also 

 do best in tin cans. H. M. K. 



Raising Horse-radish for Market. 



The New York Herald recently compiled 

 some information upon the culture of this 

 plant. It says that the consumption of 

 Horse-radish has been largely increased 

 within a few years past. Formerly it was 

 eaten mainly with roast beef, but now it 

 accompanies oysters almost universally. 

 Hundreds of tons are annually sold. 



Horse-radish requires a deep, mellow, rich 

 soil, so that the roots may be grown in one 

 year large enough for sale, and the land 

 then plowed out so as to clean out the myr- 

 iads of small sprouts thiit would cover the 

 soil with plants the succeeding year. A 

 heavy dressing of tine manure should be 

 plowed under in the spring, or coarse ma- 

 nure in the fall, and replowed deep just be- 

 fore planting, making the land deep and 

 mellow. Then throw up into ridges three 

 feet apart and plant the sets or pieces of 

 root one foot apart along these ridges. Plant 

 last of April to middle of May, and sow 

 Radishes, Beets, Lettuce, etc., between. The 

 additional crop will be no hindrance. 



The yield of good land is four to six tons 

 per acre, though often less than half that 

 much. It can't be grown well on poor or 

 stony land, and there is no use in trying it. 

 But it is profitable where there is a market 

 for it. It is about as hard to kill out as 

 Canada Thistle or Couch Grass. It is a good 

 deal of work to i)rci)are the roots for sale. 

 They must be trimmed with a knife, the 

 large root.s assorted from the small, and 

 then carefully washed with a scrubbing 

 brush on a board so as to look attractive. 



