l62 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



May, 



able crop, if gone into in a thorough manner. 

 No slipshod worlv will do; the care of the 

 young seedlings, the weeding and cultiva- 

 ting, must be continued year after year, 

 until the roots get to the forcing size. This 

 is the sole reason why the crop is so unfail- 

 ingly profitable, because not one grower in 

 one hundred can afford to wait, or has the 

 patience to do so. 



Paper shield for protecting i'oung Plants. 



Of course, your amateur readers can apply 

 the same instructions given for a market 

 crop for what might be wanted for private 

 use, and even if no greenhouse is at hand, a 

 warm cellar with a furnace in it will answer 

 just as well as a greenhouse. In such cases, 

 it will be more convenient to pack the roots 

 closely In boxes, and sift enough of fine soil 

 or sand over the roots to fill up the interstices, 

 as they will dry quicker in boxes in a cellar 

 than on the damp floors under greenhouse 

 benches. 



It is not very easy to get exactly at what a 

 greenhouse forced with Rhubarb or Aspara- 

 gus will pay per square foot, as, of course, 

 much depends on where it is sold, and the 

 quality of the crop. I think it is safe to say 

 that this crop forced even under thebenches 

 will give an average of seventy-five cents 

 per square foot of space, which, if two crops 

 are taken, will make SI. .50 per square foot. 

 Now, when it is known that few florists 

 or market gardeners average more than 

 seventy-five cents per square foot off their 

 greenhouse surface devoted to flowering 

 plants, it can be easily seen how profitable 

 the forcing of Rhubarb and Asparagus, at 

 the present prices, really is. And as before 

 said, the reason for this unusual price is 

 assignable to nothing else than the fact of 

 the necessary preparation before the roots 

 for forcing can be obtained. 



Protection to Young Plants. 



W. p. WARING, BELKNAP CO., N. H. 



For several years I have employed ati in- 

 expensive device for protecting young plants 

 from chilly winds, and especially those of 

 Cucumbers from the attacks of beetles and 

 bugs at a time when the plants are yet too 

 young and weak to withstand their ravages. 

 This consists of a paper shield of the form 

 shown in the sketch, and made by myself 

 after the pattern also shown. 



To make these shields any kind of cheap, 

 stiff paper answers. The pattern here shown 

 is enlarged so that the section marked c, 

 which forms the sloping end, is three by 

 four inches in size, although any other di- 

 mensions may be adopted. For cutting out 

 the papers a form made of a thin board is 

 employed, and then the preparing of a large 

 number of papers becomes a smjiU matter. 

 The shape is such that there is little wastage 

 of material . 



Tlie letters which appear in the two cuts 

 indicating the parts of the shield both in the 

 flat and as finished show how the paper is to 

 be folded. A pin or thorn serves to keep 



the box together, while two stones or some 

 loose earth laid on the flaps (c) prevent the 

 wind from disturbing its position. 



The Choicer Water Lilies and Their 

 Culture. 



GEO. RICHARDSON, TRUMBULL CO., OHIO. 



Most flower lovers who have heard of the 

 rare aquatics imported from Egypt, Japan 

 and China would no doubt be pleased to 

 learn how they flourish in this country, and 

 especially as regards their hardiness. Some 

 kinds, its is true, are only suitable for green- 

 house culture, but others of the first intro- 

 ductions have proved to be perfectly hardy. 

 When we speak of an aquatic being hardy, 

 we do not, however, mean that it wiU stand 

 actual freezing, but if placed in the water 

 below the reach of frost it will endure the 

 winter. I will describe only such as I have 

 in my own ponds, and which have been 

 thoroughly proved as regards to hardiness. 

 I have no greenhouse and my ponds are only 

 supplied with surface water, and, of course, 

 rise and fall according to freshet or drought. 

 And in this part of Ohio, the winters are 

 very severe, ice forming on my ponds last 

 winter to the depth of fourteen inches. 



The Nelumblums I will take up first. 

 These should be planted in very soft ground 

 in about one foot of water, and like all 

 aquatics, the richer the ground the better. 

 They are rapid growing plants of a rambling 

 nature, and soon spread over a small pond. 

 The roots burrow very deep in the ground, 

 and this prevents their being injured by cold. 

 The flowers rise two or three feet above the 

 water, and when fully expanded are about 

 the size of a common dinner plate, but some- 

 times much larger. 



The Sacred Lotus {Nelumbium speciosum). 

 This, taking it all in all, is the most desira- 

 ble one of all the family. It is one of the 

 most profuse bloomers; a single root planted 

 in the spring will produce from twenty to 

 fifty flowers the first summer, and that is a 

 very small per cent of what it will produce 

 the second summer. They are a bright pink 

 and present something very fascinating in 

 their noble forms. They commence to bloom 

 about the first of July, and continue to 

 bloom till late in October. The first frosts 

 seem to have little effect on them, and in 

 fact, some heavy enough to kill all other 

 flowers do not prevent the Nelumbiums 

 from continuing to bloom. 



The Japanese Nelumbiums are the .same 

 as the above, except that they are not such 

 good bloomers, they are of various shades of 

 pink, and are thought by many to be more 

 lovely thanN. speciosum. 



The White Lotus {Nelumbinm nucifcnim 

 rose i(?(i) does not do well for me, bvit .some 

 claim it to be the finest of the whole family. 



Turning to Nymphasas,— of which the 

 common white Water Lily {N. odomta), is 

 the most common native form,— these should 

 be planted in about two feet of water. The 

 flowers and leaves float on the surface. 



Nymixea roaca is the pink Water Lily, 

 and this is undisputed the queen of the fam- 

 ily. It is one of the greatest of bloomers, of 

 a deep pink color, much larger than any of 

 the white kinds, and is noted for its delicious 

 fragrance. There is a pink Lily that grows 

 wild in the Southern States, but it is odorless 

 and inferior to this the true rosea. 



Nyinph<fn flavn. the yellow species, is 

 worthy of a place in any collection. The 

 flowers are about four inches across, of a 

 bright golden yellow, and deliciously scented , 

 This plant, although from Florida, has 

 proved to be perfectly hardy. 



Nymphcva tuberosn is the best of the 

 white kinds; it is about six or seven inches 

 across, very full and double, and of snowy 

 whiteness. 



Nymphcea odorata,the common wild Lily, 

 is too well known to need a description. 



A Strawberry Crinoline. 

 In the annexed engraving is shown a 

 simple contrivance that has attained to 

 some use in England for supporting the 

 foliage and fruit of Strawberry plants above 

 the ground. It is made of wire and its shape 

 and manner of applying are clearly enough 

 indicated in the engravings to require no 

 further explanation. Such a support for 

 Strawberry plants would of course be of no 

 service in field culture by the matted system, 

 but in gardens where the plants are kept in 

 distinct hills it would answer a good pur- 

 pose, not only by protecting the fruit but in 

 aiding clean culture, say nothing of the in- 

 creased neatness to be secured by its use. 



Horticultural Notes, by Samuel Mil- 

 ler, Montgomery Co., Missouri. 



Grafting — Care ok Grafts. I have often 

 seen men graft a good sized Apple tree when 

 they grafted every limb, and were greatly 

 exercised about the grafts blowing off when 

 grown a few months. Not more than one- 

 half of the limbs should be grafted in one 

 season, and then some of the sprouts should 

 be left to grow out of the grafted limbs, 

 which should be pinched back when grown, 

 say three inches, and about midsummer 

 may be removed. These sprouts help to 

 carry off the surplus of sap so that the grafts 

 don't grow too fast and succulent, so as to 

 be easily broken off by storms. 



Even the grafts when they have made a 

 foot of growth may be pinched at the tips, 

 and this repeated again when grown six or 

 eight weeks more. In this way I am satis- 

 fied that fruit can be obtained one year 

 sooner when a new variety is looked for. 



Restoring Dried Grafts. Some time 

 ago a packet of valuable Pear grafts came 

 to hand from 1,000 miles away. They were 

 not properly put up, were 14 days on the 

 way and completely shriveled when they ar- 

 rived. If I had been at all hasty they might 

 have gone into the waste basket, but it 

 strtick me that the germs in the buds might ' 

 not be dead, so they were wrapped snugly in 

 damp moss for several days, then set half 

 their length in a tumbler of water for some 

 days. They swelled up somewhat, but still 

 the wrinkles were not all out. They were 

 then packed in wet moss for near a week 

 again, by which time they were as plump as 

 when taken from the tree, with one excep- 

 tion. That one was past redemption. 



These grafts were set into thrifty bearing 

 Pear trees ten days ago, and will grow, if 

 appearances are not very deceptive. The 

 party who sent them was at once informed 

 of their condition, who at once sent me a few 

 more, which arrived since in nearly as bad 

 a state as the first, but I can bring them out. 



If grafts are wrapped in damp moss, then 

 tied up in well-oiled paper air tight, they 

 should go a month without drying. I used 

 to send plants and scions to Salt Lake City, 



Wire Support for a Strawberry Plant. 



Utah, before the railroad was built, and they 

 always reached there in good condition. 



June Budding. One week or ten days 

 before this is to be done the tips of the twigs 

 to be used to take the buds from should be 

 pinched off, and it will develop the buds so 

 that they will be better to set. My experi- 

 ence with June budding has not been by 

 any means satisfactory. 



Plums— Russian Apricots. Just now, 

 April 9, my Plum trees are in full bloom. 



