i888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



205 



(ax. Angle Worma and Carpet Moths. Clear 

 lime water made by usiuji: a halt'-peck (.»f fresh 

 lime to a barrel of water and applyiui^ the clear 

 liciuid after settling to the soil, will kill an(?le 

 worms. The soil should be soaked with this. 

 The beetles of the carpet moth are to be found 

 in concealed places from October until the fol- 

 lowing spring; and every effort should be made 

 to destroy them wherever present. A good way 

 is to fold together some pieces of flannel and lay 

 them on the closet floors. These the bugs will 

 find, and then they maj' be shaken into tne fire 

 once or twice a week, returning the flannel again. 

 The moths develop most numerousij- from June 

 until August, and carpets are the articles they 

 flrst attack. Entering at the edge they may be 

 repelled by laying strips of tarred paper under- 

 neath all around the room. But this will not kill 

 the pest; to do so let the cracks beneath 1 he base- 

 board and elsewhere be puttied up and a fine line 

 of corrosive sublimate — bed-bug poison— be ap- 

 plied with a brush along the corner. Professor 

 A. J. Cook recommends as the best remedy, tf) 

 place two or three thicknesses of common towel- 

 ing over the borders of carpets, wrung out of 

 water just so as not to drip, and then to iron 

 with flat irons so hot as to send a full head of 

 steam through the carpet, and thus kill the larval 

 beetle. If clothing should become infested put 

 it in a close box and drench with gasoline. As 

 soon as the insects are killed the clothing can be 

 aired, when the odorous liquid will escape. 



7.39. Watering Strawberry Plants. Last year, 

 under very advei-se circumstances, with pro- 

 tracted drought more severe than any ever wit- 

 nessed here early in the season, with less than ten 

 acres, the total yield of lierries marketed was >S6 

 bushels. Of course we resorted to watering in a 

 crude way, b.v means contrived hurriedly, but 

 which I found to work with great .satisfaction, 

 and thoroughly convinced me that, sooner or 

 later, those who will succeed best with Straw- 

 berries, either on a large or small scale, will have 

 to resort to irrigation. It is the only way to in- 

 sure ma.ximum crops each and every year. We 

 applied the water with an ordinary street-sprink- 

 ling cart, applying SSOO gallons of water to beds 

 400 feet long and five feet wide, twice each week 

 during the picking season. There was a trifle 

 over two acres of the Strawberry ground which 

 it was impossible to get at with the watering 

 cart, and on this spot the crop was nearly a fail- 

 ure. The first pickings on the beds where no 

 water was applied were fair to middling, bu t the 

 last pickings amounte-d to nothing. The excess- 

 ivelj' dry weather burned up the foliage, and the 

 berries gathered were small and unsightly. My 

 experience with watering was so satisfactory 

 that in the course of another year I will have mj- 

 plants matured, so that I can apply water in the 

 bearing beds at any time during the fruiting 

 season. There is no doubt in my mind that those 

 who desire to realize the largest results from 

 Strawberry growing will have to resort to irri- 

 gation. Tnere have been some statements which 

 found their way in print, saying that Strawlier- 

 ries grown in this way are too soft tor market. 

 This is contrarj' to ray experience last year. — 

 P. T. Quinn. 



740. Wires the First Year for Grapes. While 

 you can get along with one wire the flrst year 

 .vet it is better to put up both wires if you have 

 the wire on hand. Wire on the trellis does not 

 rust as fast as if under cover. I have .500 ptainds 

 of wire in my barn that is so rusted as to be 

 worthless. My method is to prune the vine at 

 the end of the flrst year to two eighteen inch 

 canes, if it has made sufiicient growth. Afterthe 

 young shoots start I have a boy go along and 

 break off the shoots, except the strongest two on 

 each cane. As these grow tlie.v are turned in 

 the direction of the row and kept in place by a 

 piece of shingle. The \nne can be lifted up' in 

 noeingwitlmut injury'- The shingles also pre\'ent 

 the tjill winds from whipping the canes ar-ound 

 and t\visting them off. I would not use a trellise. 

 The less you are on the land occupied by a young 

 vineyard the better. If the young soft gnjwtli 

 is tied to a wire the winds will cause it to rub on 

 the wire until it is sawed thi-ough and ruined.— 

 Mr. Skinner. 



741. Black Knot on Plums. Mr. D. B. Wier is 

 of the ojiinion that the way to prevent the black 

 knot is never to plant on too hea\'y and wet soil; 

 secondly, to cut off all affected parts in May and 

 June, and cover the wounds with a thick paint 

 of white lead, turpentine and oil. He also rec- 

 ommends planting only the Wild Goose Plum 

 and other varieties oi the Chickasaw family, 

 which do not wear black knots. It may be well 

 to add that no one should expect to succeed with 

 the process of excLsion, unless the malady is 

 taken in time, and before it has made much 

 progress over the tree. We have found a solu- 

 tion of chloride of lime applied to the wounds 

 made by the cutting to prevent the disease 

 breaking out a second time at these placi^s, 

 as frequently tfiok place where this application 

 was omitted. We may also add, on the subject 

 of soils, that the worst cases we have known 

 were on diy, gravelly locations. 



7.5X. Hen Manure for Grapes. If used care 

 should be taken to thoroughly mix with the soil. 

 I never like to mix ashes with manure of any 



kind. Apply one or the other flrst and then 

 wait a week at least before applying the other. 

 Both are good for Grapes, but should be well 

 mixed with the soil. Usually if the poultry 

 manure has been usually well cared for it is very 

 rich and onlj' a small quantity should be ap- 

 plied at a time to each plant.— N. J. Shkphekd. 



liOB. Propagating Weeping Trees. The com- 

 mon Babylon and Wisconsin Weeping Willows 

 grow readily from cuttings. The new American 

 and Kilmarnock are budded at standard height 

 on the " Bearridge " or flowering Willow, which 

 is not hardy west. Some other free growing 

 hardy Willow should be used instead. The 

 Weeping Elm is budded on the Engltsh Kim, 

 whicm again is not hardy west. It should work 

 on the American red or Slippery Elm which Is 

 hardy. The same facts are true of the various 

 fancy Ashes such as the Weeping, Golden Bark, 

 etc. They may all stand well in the Atlantic 

 States, but the rowdy West is too rough for them. 

 The venerable and erudite A. S. Fuller has lately 

 issued a work on general |>ropagation that is said 

 to be the most perfect of its kind. If he will for- 

 ward me a copy I wfll re\iew it and point out 

 an3' mistakes he may have made in P. G. W.H.N. 

 can order it from P. G. Pub. Co. Brother Puller 

 is usually right, but we all make mistakes.— 

 D. B. W. 



746. Destroying Cat Worms. The best method 

 of dealing with this troublesome pest is to jjoison 

 them by putting a teaspoonful of Paris green 

 or London purple in two gallons of water, and 

 sprinkle handfuls of grass, or gi'een sods, which 

 can then be scattered throughout the patch, 

 walking crossways of the harrow marks. By do- 

 ing this towards evening after the last harrow- 

 ing, during the night the cut worms that are de- 

 prived of their food will be out looking fortresh 

 Eastures and will appropriate of the prepare<i 

 ait, the smallest particle of the poison of which 

 will kill. If the worms are very thick, the remedy 

 can be repeated, it being easily applied. 



746. Green Cabbage Worm. Pyrethrum or 

 Bubach applied in either the dry or Uquid form 

 is now looked upon as the best remedy against 

 this destructive worm. To prepare the liquid 

 take a tablespoonfui of the pure powder to 

 two gallons of water, applying it by sprinkling 

 with a watering pot, or better yet, by force with 

 a pump. Here, as in all cases where we use liq- 

 uids to destroy insects, especially if as in this 

 case it kills by contact, we must apply with 

 great force, so that the liquid will spatter every- 

 where and so touch every insect. The dry form 

 is prepared by using one part of the dry powder 

 with forty parts of flnely sifted wood ashes, 

 dusting this over the Cabbages. If the mixture 

 is prepared a day or two before using, keeping 

 it in a perfectly tight vessel in the me:(ntiTne. it 

 will have even a better effect than when usiil 

 freshly mi.xed. To sprinkle the infected plants 

 simply with hot water by the aid of a watering 

 can and hose will kill the worms. 



74*<. Sawdast Manure. Do you mean sawdust 

 that has been used as litter for horses, or some- 

 thing of that kind? Otherwise it is not worth 

 drawing for manure, much less at 50 cents a load 

 beyond hauling. The old sawdust would be the 

 better.as it is nearer the state of decompositii>n; 

 but even that which has lain eighteen moTitlis in 

 a heap will be years before it is sufticientlv ile- 

 composed to become anything like a rich fertil- 

 izer. Again, fni liyht soils sawdust docs injury 

 by leaving it in too liollow a state, and thus mak- 

 ing it too dry in a ciry season. A. H. E. 



7.51. Unhealthy Zonale Geraniums. It is a 

 iiuite common occurrence to receive complaints 

 of Zonale Geraniums being in a similar coiKlition 

 to your stock. The unsatisfactory state of 

 things has been caused b.v the plants having 

 been supplied with water so largely in excess of 

 their requirements during the autumn and early 

 part of the winter that the soil became sour, and 

 the greater portion of the roots decayed. To 

 improve their condition a drastic remedy must 

 tie adopted. The flrst step vriU be to wholly 

 withhold the .supply of water, and keep the soil 

 ijiiite dry for abfmt two weeks. The ne.xt step 

 will be to turn the jilants out of the pots after 

 the soil has lieen in a dust-dry state for the per- 

 iod mentioned. Shake away the whole of the 

 soil, and repot, using clean pots and a fresh 

 compost. When repotted, place the plants in a 

 pit until they are becoming established and com- 

 mencing to make new growth. 



"W. Dandelions in Meadow. The presence of 

 Dandelions is usually supposed to indicate a fer- 

 tile soil. As in the case of all perennial weeds, 

 the cure shoulil have been undertaken when but 

 a few were present, by carefully forking them 

 out ; now, as the meadow is full, that remedy is 

 out of the question. A common plan, when 

 weeds get full jiossession of the ground, is to 

 break up and well cultivate the lan<i in green 

 crops, but this is not always desirable. 1 would 

 tr.v the effects of grazing the field, or killing the 

 weeds by a liberal use of manure and gi'ass 

 seeds, afiplying a good dressing of farm yard 

 manure and gypsum, and strewing the ground 

 with a heavy seeding of clover. Manure this 

 clover well, and force it into luxuriance, when 

 it will smother out all weeds.— C. G. F. 



750. Worms in Pots and Fern Cases. Clear 

 lime water is the best for dislodging worms in 

 liots and also in Fern cases. It is prepared by ad- 

 ding unslacked lime to water in the projiortion 

 of a peck to eight gallons of water. The water 

 must staiKl until it is quit<' clear, and be then 

 carefully poureil off so as to avoid disturbing 

 the seilinieiit of lime in the bottom of the vessel. 

 It will be n(cis.sary to wat<!r the case two or 

 three times, with an interval of four days be- 

 tween each watering. The best course, if the 

 plants are not well established in the ciuse, will 

 be to leave them undisturbed until next month, 

 and then take them out and renew the soil, for 

 if the bed c<iritjiiTis a huge iiinnber of worms, it 

 is ver>- probable tiiat the soil has become mixed 

 with tile irocks, and the rapid escape of super- 

 fluous water prevented. The Ferns in pots slum Id 

 he watered with the limewatcr at the same in- 

 tervals as advised for the ca.se. A. H. E. 



74». Salt for Potato Land ; Soot. If the soil is 

 quite light, salt might well be applied, but not 

 otherwise, as it makes heavy land work badly 

 for years after its application. Soot is a good 

 fertilizer for almost any crop, and that on any 

 kind of soil, and will be sure to act well in the 

 present iiise. Salt is applierl at the rate of flve 

 to eiglil luislii-ls per acre. The sooner salt is 

 sown the better. Soot should be sown at the 

 rate of flft.v or sixty bushels to the acre, and 

 would be best applied as soon as the potatoes 

 are planted. A. H. E. 



7-5-'. Culture of Freesias. When required for 

 the decoration of the conservatory or indoor 

 apartments Freesias should be grown in either 

 flve or six inch pots, the former being prefer- 

 able. But when grown siraiily for the supply of 

 cut flowers they may, to economize sjiace, be put 

 in shallow pans or bo.xes. An efHcicnt drainage 

 is necessary, and a light rich mixture should be 

 used. A compost of loam, leaf-mold and sand 

 will be the most suitable. The pots should be 

 filled to within about one and a half inches of 

 the rim with the prepared mixture, and the 

 bulbs be jilaced on the surface about two inches 

 apart eacli way. They are then to be covered 

 to a depth of about one inch with soil, and be 

 placed in a pit or greenhouse. The soil should 

 be kc'pt niodciatrly moist only until they have 

 made considerable progress, but until the leaves 

 have made tlieir appearance very little water in- 

 deed will be required. Subsequently the water 

 supply must lie iiuiva.sed. but not to any great 

 extent, as tlie l-"recsias do not require at any 

 stage very lilicral siipiilies of water, and an ex- 

 cess will bedeciiledly liuitful to them. When in 

 full growth a light and airj- position is the best. 



7a5. Covering Bare Spaces in Bose Beds. The 



beds can be planted in summer aiifl autumn 

 with Mignonette, Virginian Stock, Escholtzia, 

 and other annuals, the seed of which should be 

 sown on tile bed in the spring. We have follow- 

 ed this plan w itli greiit success for many years, 

 and jilants of this lUsciiption that can lie i-c- 

 moved once or twice a year to admit of the 

 ground being enriched for the roots of the 

 Roses, are much better than those of a more 

 I>erinanent character. 



7.5>i. Arsenical Poieon and Bees. There is no 

 danger whate\'er to bees or the bee keeping in- 

 dustry in the proper u.se of Paris green or Lon- 

 don purple in fighting the Codling Moth. This 

 valuable remedy is niit applied till the blos.soms 

 tia\e fallen and the young Apjiles are about the 

 size of small Peas. The bees only work on the blos- 

 soms, and so are gathering the delicious nectar 

 and doing valuable service t^i the fruit grower 

 in fertilizing the blossoms some da.vs before the 

 poison is applied. Thus there is no possible ob- 

 jection on this score to the use of this remedy, 

 while the ad\antagis irained are oxceedingiv 

 great, indeed so great that no pomologist can af- 

 ford to disregard them. Careful and elaborate 

 experiments lia\'e shtiwn us this spring that 

 either the kerosene and soap mixture, strong 

 soft soai) .solution, or a strong whale oil soap 

 stilution, will each kill the eggs"of jilanl lice just 

 as they are about to hatch, and the young lice 

 just alter hatching. This, however, need be no 

 offense to the bees, for it should be used just be- 

 fore the lea\'es ajipear; just as the buds are 

 opening. It is more economical t4i apply this 

 early and we are more certain to reach aiid de- 

 stroy every louse. The lice are then more e,\- 

 liosed, and there are no lea\ es to protect thorn. 

 —A. J. Cook. 



7HU. Pruning Marc chal Neil Soses. It was a 

 pity you pinched out the points of the strong 

 Rose shoots, as this has had the effect of weak- 

 ening the plant to some extent through the pro- 

 duction of tlu" side growths. What you must do 

 now is to shorten, that is, cut back so much of 

 the main branches as are green to the eye and 

 soft to the touch, and then treat similarly each 

 of the remaining si<le shofits, cutting the weak- 

 est to one bud and the stronger to a couple of 

 buds. This would mean shortening the main 

 branches a f<Hit or less, and reducing thi' side 

 shoots to one or two inches. When cutting thi- 

 shoots, be careful Ut lio so close to a jilunip bud. 

 which points outwards from the tree. Without 

 s<'eing the tree it is iliflicult to give you better 

 instructions, but you will no doubt find this 

 plan will answer. 



