1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



211 



do not seem !is large, in (luality it compares 

 very favoral)ly with it to my tasle so far, 

 but it is yet too early to say more than thai 

 both arc promising varieties at present. 

 The retlexed calyx and inclination In neck 

 of the Pearls are valua>)le features in my 

 estimation in any berry; it is easily removed 

 without mutilatinij; the berry (N. B. I have 

 no plants for sale, neither do I know if it is 

 to be offered, or wheu). 



The Sharpless is losing its popularity; the 

 later blossoms do not (ill out and '-i or 4 

 pickings finishes them. The May King is 

 growing in popularity as an early berry, 

 handsome and of good size, vigorous and 

 productive. The Crescent for health, vigor 

 and productiveness is immense, and for the 

 first week or so the berries are suflHciently 

 large for all practical purposes, but towards 



any vineyarils of more than three or four 

 acres. Since that time the planting and 

 I cultivation have been greatly extended, 

 many vineyards embracing from twenty to 

 tifty acres. One of the largest growers has 

 under cultivation over one hundred and 

 twenty-live acres. 



At a low estimate '2m acres will be put up 

 on wires this spring and yield their lii-st crop, 

 worth over *l.">,il()(). The mdvistry has grown 

 so large that the growers propose to form 

 a shipping association and make arrange- 

 ments to ship from Westfield, instead of 

 hauling the frnit to Brocton. The sliipinents 

 from here next fall, by rail, will nut fall 

 far short of Km car loads. The railroads are 

 luaking arrangements to give growers in- 

 creased facilities for the prompt and careful 

 distribution of the crop. 



Stock Flowers In the Spring Months. 



BV A PHACTICAL FLORIST. 



For years we have had 8locks in bloom in 

 April, May, and .lune, .md they are so very 

 useful then, both for cut flowers and decora- 

 live pot plants, that their culture is well 

 worth general attention. Their bright and 

 varied colors, and, above all, their sweet 

 scent, delight everybody. They might be 

 u.scd in many spring flower gardens, ami 

 where there is no place for them in such po- 

 sitions they might be grown in the borders 

 of the garden or in the shrubberies: indeed, 

 they can hardly be out of place anywhere. 



The varieties most suited for si)ring and 

 early summer blooming are the Plmperor, 

 Brompton, and the Giant Cape. Seed of 

 these should lie sown about the end of -luly 

 in a bed or frame anywhere. It should be 



the last they seem rather small: but with 

 such an immense crop it is difficult to see 

 how it could be otherwise. In quality it is 

 not quite up to the May King, which defect 

 is remedied by close proximity to the sugar 

 bowl; but whoever plants Crescents with a 

 good sort as a fertilizer will have berries 

 "lots of 'em." It is yet too early to make 

 comparisons or draw conclusions. 



Grape-Growing in Western New 

 York. 



As one proof of the supreme positicju of 

 Western New York as a fruit growing sec- 

 tion, let us point to the magnitude of the 

 vineyard interests of Chautau(iua County. 

 It is believed that thedistrict between Silver 

 Creek, 31 miles up the shore Of Lake Erie 

 from Buffalo to Northeast just beyoiul the 

 Pentisylvania line, now represents a larger 

 outlay in Crape culture than any similar 

 sized horticultural district in the country. 



The number of acres that were planted 

 during the past spring.according to the Farm 

 and Vineyard, will fairly ilouble the pro- 

 duction within three years. There are at 

 present over 'JOOO acres of vines in Portland 

 township alone, nearly all of which have 

 been planted within the last decade, and in 

 Westfield the acreage of vineyards this year 

 shows an increase of from 1.50 to :i(KI per cent. 

 Previims to ISTS the culture had been carried 

 on to a limited extent, there being scarcely 



A NORTHERN CHAUTAUQUA VINEYARD. 



Good judges estimate that in the adjoining 

 town of Ripley the area now in Grapes is 

 equal to about fifteen hundred acres— one- 

 half of which is in bearing. The main de- 

 pendence is upon the Concord Grape, yet the 

 Catawba generally ripens well. As a general 

 thing they are planted about nine feet apart 

 and pruned upon the tree system and 

 trained upon a two-wire trellis. Vines are 

 grown upon the various soils from the shore 

 of Lake Erie to the brow of Chautauqua 

 ridge, which lies TUU feet above Lake Erie, 

 preference being given to easily worked 

 soils in which posts retain their position. 



In answer to the question: Is not the 

 I)lantingof Grapes in this section being over- 

 doneV a corresjiondent replies emphatically 

 no. He says: " There is double the money, 

 net, in (irai)es with us at two cents a pouiul 

 than any other ero]) we can put upon our 

 lauds that are adapted to Grape growing: 

 an<l at that price more people can and will 

 buy Grapes freely and consume them in 

 their families, hence an increased market. 

 So that if we (|Uadrui)le our i)roiluclion, 

 there will be an increased demand for them. 

 At the present time the production is not 

 e(iual to one pound to each inhabitant of 

 our country, and I have no doubt that ten 

 pounds per capihi of consumption is within 

 the mark each year, if they were produced." 



For the use of the above engraving we are 

 indebted to our valued contemporary the 

 Farm and \'iueyard of Westfield, N. Y. 



sown thinly, and covered over with about 

 an inch of soil. The young plants will soon 

 come up, and if transferred into pots of 

 ample size will grow fast throughout the re- 

 mainder of the season. If sown and grown 

 thinly in the seed bed they may be drawn 

 up on a wet day and dibbled out. 



The soil should have a good coating of 

 manure added to it, and soils of all kinds 

 should always have adressing of soot worked 

 into them before the Stocks are planted. 

 This prevents them from being destroyed by 

 maggots at the root— a common thing where 

 precautions of this kind are not taken. 



During winter the plants should be kept 

 very cool in the greenhouse, window or 

 light cellar. In March the plants may be 

 encouraged to grow rapidly, and flowers 

 will soon nuike their appearance. 



In all Stock be<ls there will be single and 

 double flowering plants: the single flowering 

 kinds some dislike and jmll them up, but 

 this is a mi.stake, as single sorts are just as 

 pretty as the double ones, and in a mixed 

 be<l or border they are equally effective; be- 

 sides, it is an easy matter to save seed in 

 autumn from spring-blooming Stocks, and 

 in many instances it would pay to allow the 

 single ones to remain in order to secure this 

 object. One thing is certain, few thingsean 

 be more easily grown than Stocks to flower 

 in spring, a circumstance which ought to 

 secure for them tlie atlention of all who love 

 bright-colored fragrant flowers. 



