1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



225 



CONDENSED GLEANINGS. 



Kew Styles of Fruit Packages. < >f the twintv- 



livf styles of pai-kaifi's, liirfte iiiiil smnll, wliii'li 

 Mr. Miirvil is nmv luakiiijr, the airKTuKiit*.' iiuinlnjr 

 of which c.voccds live millions aniumlly, wc lia<l 

 time to L'xaniinc but two, the half-baiivl vouu- 

 talilc pai'katfc ami the new style Peaeh-liasket. 

 The former is simply an onlinary I'eaeh basket 

 ou a larger sealo with "lift-s" on the sides for 

 convenience iu tianelling and a cover which is in- 

 stiintaneously fa.stcned on by means of wires. 

 The cover is made of slats which with the open 

 sides ensures perfect \entilation, and the tlarms 

 siiles prevent the vefretablcs from settling to- 

 gether, as the weight rests chietly on the sides. 

 Proof of tins is seen in the fact that a bottomless 

 package can be lifted full of \cgetjililes with 

 the ilropping of only u few from the bottom. 

 The new I'eaeh basket is a happy thought. The 

 basket is si|uave instead of round. It is of the 

 same height, has the same Huring sides and liolils 

 the .same a.s the li\c-eighths basket, and while 

 the top is just one f(jot siiuare, the round basket 

 is tifteen inches in diameter. This means that a 

 car caiiai)le of containing (itMl of the round bu,s- 

 kets will hold '.illtl of the siiuare, thus saving one- 

 third of the freight charges to market. This is 

 enough to bring them into favor at once; but a 

 moment's retloction ser\es to show that a huge 

 number of baskets sitting side by side in the 

 wagon, on the pavement or in the storehouse 

 will present an unbroken face of solid mass of 

 color which will add much to the general appear- 

 ance. The result will !je .iust as in the ca.se of 

 the round berry baskets flnallj- yielduig to the 

 s<iuare.— Delaware Home and Farm. 



The Honeysuckle. There is no more available 

 ornamental vine to-day than the Honeysuckle. 

 Its propagation is attended with less annoyance 

 than any other jilant, it we bear in mind the im- 

 portant fact that it decidedly dislikes heat. 

 Their haiiliness is uncjuestioncd ; our native 

 species being found tar northward, especially 

 in the mountain districts. For increasing our 

 stock of plants, all that is necessary is to make 

 the young wood into cuttings, say three or four 

 inches long, an<l place them in shallow bo.xes of 

 well-pounded sand, any time during autumn, to 

 remain undisturbed until planting time in 

 spring. The particular point in the ojjenition is 

 that the aii- should be pieservcd, cool and 

 moist, say from forty-five degrees to flftj- 

 degrees. The moment we admit heat to them 

 their doom is sealed. Layering in the open air 

 us very well for procuring a few plants. The 

 freciuent presence of mildew on the foliage of 

 our native Woodbine, and the ever-blooming 

 variety (monthly) is owing in a great measure to 

 our hot, dry climate. Those most free from dis- 

 ease are the Japanese Halliuna and evergreen 

 Japonica. Both are strong, vigorous climbers, 

 producing an abundance of beautiful fragrant, 

 llowers. A new hybrid, introduced inider the 





name of Lonicera Heckrotti, is a charming vine, 

 with large healthy foliage, and an abundance of 

 bloom lasting initil freezing weather. The old 

 favorites. Red and Yellow Coral, are not so sat- 

 isfactory as in years past, owing to the prevalence 

 of mildew on the foliage, conseiiuentlv the 

 growth is impaired.— New York Tribune. 



& Cheap Country Faint. The paint has but 

 two parts, both cheap materials, being water 

 lime or hydraulic cement, and skimmed milk. 

 The i-cment is placed in a bucket, and the skim 

 milk, sweet, is gradually added, stirring con- 

 stantly, until just about the consistency of good 

 cream. The stirring must be thoroughly done 



to have an even How, anil if too thin the mi.vture 

 wdl run on the building and look streaked 

 The proportions can not be exactly stated, but a 

 gallon of milk reipiires a full ijuart of cement, 

 and sometimes a little mia-c. This is a convenient 

 iiuantity to mi.\ at a time for<mc person to use. 

 If to<i much is prepared the cement will settle 

 anil harden before all is used. A Hat paint brush, 

 about four inches wide, is the best implement to 

 use with this mi.xture. Lay iton c.vactly as with 

 oil paint. It can be applied to wood-work, old 

 or new, and to brick and stone. When dry the 

 color is a light, creamy brown, or what some 

 would call a yellowish stone color, a very good 

 color tor a country building. A pigment-like 

 ochre may be added to change the color, but it is 

 very ditheult to do the mi.virig so thoroughly as 

 to gi\e an even tint. If attemiited, the cement 

 and coloring matter, in carefully weighed pro- 

 portions, should be tir.st run through a paint 

 mill. This skini-ndlk paint, well mi.ved, without 

 added color, has a good body, gives a snumtli, 

 satisfactory finish on wood or stone and wears 

 admirably.— Alvord in American Cultivator. 



Improving the Native Blueberry. I lane 

 worked with my father on lilueberries for 

 eighteen jears. Having an old bushy pasture 

 thickly matted witli the low-bush berry, we 

 trimmed out evei-y thing else and burned it over. 

 The sprouts stai'ted up again thickly, but of 

 course there was no fruit till the second year. 

 We found it necessary to trim up again in the 

 fall and have continued to cut out o\ery bush 

 except a low-bush lllueberry every fall since. 

 The expense tit this work has been about $« per 

 acre. We found it best to burn every third or 

 fointh year, and as this made a barren year we 

 divided our ten-acre lot into two sections and 

 alternate the buridng. The work has produced 

 imiuensc licrries. I have freiiuently laid one on 

 my thumb-nail which was large enough to co\er 

 it. Last season we sold in the (,luincy Market, 

 Boston, i.im ciuarts for $r,77.l7, or an average of 

 a trifle over twenty cents per quart. The first 

 were picked June .IT, and the last August 4. We 

 have found it best not to pick too closelj-, 1/ut to 

 stop early in the season. We transplanted into 

 richly culti\ated land, but with nosuccess. The 

 burning should always be done when the ground 

 is wet or frozen, letting the Are just singe the 

 land, otherwise great injury will result. Careful 

 picking is an es.seutial part, and any picker who 

 shows wet or jammed berries should be dis- 

 charged.— .S. S. S., in N. E. Homestead. 



Finching the Tips not a Help. I made the ex- 

 periment on two rows of Christiana Melons. In 

 one of the rows I pinched the tips of every run- 

 ner as soon as it attained the length of one and a 

 half to two feet. The other row was not pinched 

 at all. On August 1.5 I counted on the pinched 

 row 97 fruits exceeding three inches in diameter, 

 and 8.5 on the unpinched row. As to the earlincss 

 of the two rows, the first fruit on the unpinched 

 row was ripe .Vugust 3<i, and that on the jiinched 

 row August 27. I made a similar experiment 

 with the White Spine Cucumber, the two rows 

 each contiiining '>2 plants. The runners were 

 kept carefully pinched as fast as they attained 

 the length of two or three feet. During the first 

 fortnight after the vines commenced bearing, 

 the vines on the pinched row gave decidedly the 

 larger yield. Later, however, the case was re- 

 versed. The average shows that the yield of the 

 two rows was very nearly equal. Thus, the 

 pinched row yielded during the season 2,11.5 

 pickles, which weighed ilti pounds, while the un- 

 pinched row yielded 1,!H)1 jiickles, weighing :>ii 

 pounds, 15 ounces. We ci:)Uld hardly have ex- 

 pected two rows similarl.v treated to yield more 

 nearly equal results. It will be noticed that the 

 pickles on the pinched row averaged smaller in 

 size than those of the unpinched row.- E. S. (JotF. 

 Ferfume Making in the South. Mr. J. A. 

 Storck, a clu-mist of New Orleans, says: Higlit 

 here in the Southern States, and especially in 

 Louisiana and Floiida, we have in abundance the 

 most importiutt adjuvant known to the per- 

 fumer's art, .laniely, the 1 Mange tree. Thismost 

 important tree yields three oils— one from the 

 flowers called neroli, one from the leaves called 

 I>etit grain; another from the rind of the fruit 

 called Portugal or orange; and the water used in 

 the process of distilling the oil from the flowers 

 is sold under the name iif Orange Hower water. 

 In the three cities Grasse, Cainies and Nice, in 

 the South of Franc-e, over :!,(X)0,(XX) pounds of 

 Orange flowers are used annually to numufacture 

 oils, pomades, etc., and used principally in per- 

 fumery. The value of this enormous amount of 

 flowers is about $;ttIO,tK)0. There is land enough 



to raise Orange and other trees in Louisiana alone 

 to supply perfumes for all the world. Then 

 again we have any amount of Jasmines, Tube- 

 roses and the Hose, and I will add among others 

 the Magnolia and \' inlets. I have prepared floral 

 pomade from the lh>wers above mentioned on a 

 small scale, by absorption, and found them to 

 ei|ual the French pomades of the same odors. 



The Koadside. The owner of a farn) who per- 

 mits the road that runs through or along his 



.,fe=. 



Ki'epiHu 1'iit h'Inin rs in i)ittir. 



land to become unsightly with the wild growth 

 of trees or weeds injures the value of his farm. 

 Keeping the roadside in a neat condition will add 

 considerably to the value of the land. The trees 

 should he trinuned to present a neat appearance 

 and certainly to prevent the limbs from being in 

 the way of travel. We have all seen roads on 

 which this was not done. Cut down and grub 

 up the us<'less growth. Pay |iarticular attention 

 to the weeds that may grow. Weeds ripening 

 their seed upon the roadside are not only un- 

 .sightly, but they mean additional expense in cul- 

 tivating the farm another year. It costs simie- 

 thing to destroy weeds. It costs a great deal to 

 destroy them. Just as they begin to ri|ien their 

 seed go out with a scythe and cut them down. 

 It will be s<Hnc of the l)i>st work that is done on 

 the farm.— Western Rural. 



Keeping Cut Flowers in Water. Tliead\an- 

 tage and benetit of keeping all cut Mowers with 

 stems of some length in water is obtained with- 

 outthe use of innumerable jars and pots b.v some 

 large ejistern growers, by the use of galvanized 

 iron pans about six inches deep, over the top of 

 which is laid a rack of slats to hold the flowers iu 

 an upright position and to keep the kinds sepa- 

 rate. The illustiation gives a good idea of the 

 pan, with some flowers placed in one end. Suc- 

 cessive cuttings can be placed in front of the 

 others until the pan Ls full. Cross .slats could be 

 used to subdivide the pans into more numerous 

 and smaller com|iartments if to be used for a 

 larger number of dilferent kinds of varieties.— 

 American Florist. 



Tomatoes in Trenches. A simple and very 

 useful lucthod of growing Tomatoes in the open 

 air is practiced by Mr. J. Forbes in the gardens 

 at Rochampton. On a sheltered plot of groiuid 

 sloping sharply to the south a trench is dug about 

 i feet wide, as if preparing to grow Celery on the 

 bed system, and strong Tomato plants planteil 

 in suitable soil at the proper time. The trench 

 is co\ ered with rough open lattice work, through 

 which the plants grow and are trained down to 

 it. With attention to thinning the growth for 

 the admission of sun to the fruit ripe Tomatoes 

 in abundance are produced in summer in the 

 manner represented in the engraving.— Journal 

 of Horticulture. 



Satlpetre Solution. One teaspmrnfid in a pail 

 of wat' f. A pint poured around each hill of Cu- 

 curabei-s or Squashes is \-ery good for the plants 

 and very bad for the bugs, both striped and black, 

 which burrow at night in the earth about the 

 plants. Cut worms also are said to dislike earth 

 treated with saltpetre. This is a remedy which 

 certainly would be very useful to the plants, and 

 if, as claimed, it destroys or keei)S awa.v insect 

 marauders it will |)rove most valuable.— Bulletin 

 Vermont E.Kperimental Station. 



Fitting Bones for Fertilizer, strong lye will 

 rapidl,\ disorganize bones, especially if boiled in 

 the lye; the o.sscin or organic matter of bones is 

 rapidly dis,solved and they become biittle. If 

 wood-ashes cannot l>e got in suthcient quantity, 

 bones may be fitted for use as fertilizers by 

 breaking into coarse fragments with a hammer 

 and then boiling them with a mixture of .salsoda, 

 caustic, limi' and wati'r. The ordinary carbon- 

 ate of .soda or Sjilsoda ought uai to <'ost more 

 than :J or f cents a pound when purchased iu 

 quantity. Three pounds of salsoda and two 

 pounds of caustic lime boiled up iu two gallons 



