i888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



22C 



iiiake^ii ck^aii jnl> of cutting the nimnM-n iit cacli 

 side of the row. Tlie siime ideii may be earried 

 out in an inilepoudent implement for tlie pur- 

 pose, and wliieli may be easily made at home, by 

 the blaekstnlth's aid. For this procure a jiieee of 

 flat sUicl such as an old saw blade, or the blade 

 of an old .^tcel shovel, out of whieh a wheel si.\ 

 or more int-hfs across can be cut. Make the wheel 

 with a in'\'cle(l edge and grind this down sharp. 

 A half-inch hole must also be drilled through the 

 center to receive a bolt that is to serve lus an 

 axle. Make a handle of a light piece of hard 

 wood four or five feet long, three inches wide at 

 one end anil tjipeiing toan inch wide at the otlier. 

 To the side of the wideend attach the wheel knife 

 with the bolt, having the latter pass through the 

 handle and secure it with a nut. By keeping the 

 knife sharp, the boys will enjoy trundling the 

 wheel, and do effective work cutting runners. 



TM>. Night Soil and Sewage. The composition 

 of human excrements as compared with the 

 me^m composition of the excrements from farm 

 animals so far as the more important fertilizing 

 constituents are concerned is according to Prof. 

 Wolff as follows : 



One Umx of fresh fjeces contains more than 

 twice as much nitrog:en, and more than three 

 times as much phosphoric acid, as a ton of fresh 

 mixed animal dunjf. The nitn)(fcn, too, is prob- 

 ably in a more available condition than that in 

 common barnyard dung:; and we should not be 

 far wrong in estimating 1 ton of fivces equal to 

 'Z^ tons of ordinary dunjr. 



787. Salt for Quince Trees, etc. Those who 

 have used salt about the Quince are of the opin- 

 ion that it affects the soil favorably, as it seems 

 to reduce the freezing of the ground, and is sup- 

 l^iosed to furnish some food. We have been in- 

 formed by Mr. Smith, the Geneva nui-seryman, 

 that he applies salt to Quince, Pear, and Plum 

 trees, to drive away the Curculio, lK"f<)re the 

 leaves come out; to do so after leafing would kill 

 the leaves. A mixture of stilt and ashes applied 

 to soil is believed by some practical fruitgrowers 

 to have value for mitigating the effects of 

 drought. 



7Vf4. Gooseberries Mildewing. In the culture 

 of the Whitesmith and other foreign hinds, as 

 well as our own, f<!r fifteen years. I have never 

 suffered from mildew. On some of my older 

 plants I have got half a bushel of jjei-fect fruit 

 each. I use salt freely on the soil. On the rows 

 that I have had the best results, the salt has been 

 used most abundantly. Wherever mildew has 

 put in an appearance at all it has been on young 

 plants that have not received salt. All of my 

 oldtT plants have had salt for the last ten or 

 twrlvi' yrai-s. On some new plants that had 

 never l)ecT] salt^xl until last year I put two barrels 

 of suit to :»oiUinslit_'s. I have heard ntluTs speak- 

 iuiX nf losing thi'jr Imslirs I'mm applying stilt. 1 

 nc\"«'r lia\'e Inst any; oue must be careful. In 

 applying as soon as the soil is ready to work I 

 fork it up, and then put on of old rotten ma- 

 nure all I can afford, and on that I put the salt 

 and allow it to remain on the surface until the 

 rain washes it in.— Geo. Mahen, Mercer Ok, Pa. 



T-U. Filberts should be planted with the niws 

 eight to ten feet apart with the bushes four to 

 six feet apart in the rows. They should bear in 

 from two to four yeai"s. They have not been 

 found haniy in the Northwest-ern States, arid 

 East they should have a cool moist situation on a 

 north hill side. North, a very careful selection of 

 the Ix'st wild Hazel Nuts from the woods of 

 the neighb()rhnod would perhaps give the most 

 satisfa<*tion.— D. B. W. 



783. Indelible Ink for Zink Labels. No such 

 ink is really needed, because with using an ordi- 

 nary iiencil on zinc the writing wiJl after a time 

 become distinct and indelible. Still we give our 

 eoirespnndent the fojlowiug receipt which we 

 have sei'ii iiiiIiUsIkmI but have never tried :— One 

 drain o! verdigris, one-half a dram of lamp-black, 

 one of sal-anunoniac powder, mixing them to- 

 gether with ten ilrams of water. 



774. Curled Leaf on the Peach. This ailment 

 affects I'each trees now and again but we are not 

 aware of it-s ever having done serious danuigc 

 either to the trees or the fruit. It is probably 

 bacterial in its origin, and is more apt to cnnic 

 where the trees are on wet, heavy laud, and in 

 warm dry setisons. It comes in the fore part of 

 the season and is known by the leaves swelling 

 and curling, ami becorahig thick with puffs of a 

 redtlish color on the upper side. They drop off 

 in about three weeks and new leaves come and 

 take their places, and the tree apparently forgets 

 the trifling annoyance. Thonmgh drainag<> with 

 proper culture are looked upon as Ix'ing all that 

 are necessary to meet the trouble. 



7h;{. OldCucumber Seed; Why the Best? The 

 superi<irity of old Cucumber seed to new can be 

 explained im scientific principles: when fresh 

 they an? fleshy, and contiiin pabulum which gives 

 vigor to the yctung plant at th<' expense of the 

 fructifying powers; but with age they get rid of 

 the surplus food. Cneunibers and Melons from 

 old seed fruit a great deal better than from new; 

 they are shorter jointed, and tlower at the third 

 or fourth joint, while if the yeed were fresh they 

 might not until the tenth joint. 



7H'j. Aphis on Cherries and Plums. We have 



had two severe outbreaks of aphis on ourTherries 

 and Plums. Those in the open have Ix'cn clean 

 throughout, those close to buildings badly at- 

 tacked. There hapi)ened to be at hand a bottle 

 of dissolved gum-arabic. A little of the gum 

 was poured into a can and diluted with water, so 

 as to be (luite thin. With a soft brusli the tops 

 of the trees were quickly brushed over with gum 

 on both sides, the Aphides being, of con i"se, on 

 the underside. The cure was complete, not a 

 leaf was injured; and the job waj< quieklv got 

 through. A man brushed the tops of tivcnty 

 Plum trees in but little over an hour. The even't 

 reminds me f>f an f)Utbreak of blue fly on some 

 Plum trees a few years ago, which I noticed when 

 the glue-pot was on the fire for some odd bit of 

 carpentry. I poured some of the melted glue 

 into a can and watered it down, so as to be 

 quite weak and yet moderately sticky. With this 

 I quickly brushed the tender tops of the trees, 

 annihilating the vermin and without harm U) a 

 simple leaf. If the sticky stuff is strong it kills 

 the leaves, but if weak it does no more than 

 make them shine, and the vermin perish the mo- 

 ment it touches them.— Shirley Hibbekd. 



789. Fuchsias in Pots. Fuchsias will grow 

 well in almost any moderately light and rich 

 compost. A very suitable mixture consists of 

 turfy loam, three parts; old flakey hot-bed ma- 

 nure, one part ; leaf-mold, or decayed hops, one 

 part, and a sprinkling of coarse sand, crushed 

 charcoal, and some good fertilizer. The compost 

 shoiild l»e thoroughly mixed, but not pulverized, 

 or rubl)ed down more than is really necessary, 

 for the Fuchsia, like many other plants, prefei"S 

 a somewhat rough and porous soil to one that is 

 tine in character, and, tiherefore, apt to become 

 "pasty" when wet. The larger the plants, the 

 rougher should the comnost be, and for in-inch 

 or l:i-inch i>ots we should use a quantity of rough 

 lumns of turf and rotted manure. Pot somewhat 

 firmly in all cases, and for large plants use a 

 rammer, and make the soil quite hard. Plenty 

 of fine Fuchsiiis are grown both welland quickly 

 in little but leaf-mold, but loam gives a plant 

 with more substance.— A. H. E. 



7itO. Hen Dung for Gardens. This is an excel- 

 lent manure either for the flower or kitchen 

 garden. If it is used for pot plants, the best way 

 is to dry it (if it is wet), and break it up int(» a 

 state of powder, and use a U-inch jtotful to a 

 barrow-load of mold. F(tr all out-of-doors 

 crops spread it on the sui-face of the ground 

 thinly, as it is almost as rich as guano, and dig it 

 in in the usual way. The wire worms are very 

 difficult to eradicate, and there is no better i)Iah 

 than jiutting sliees of Potatoes or Oiirrots on the 

 end of pointed slirks and placing them 3 inches 

 or4incli<'suniieiiieath the surface of the ground; 

 the wircworins arc attracted to them, and may 

 I* destro>ed. The baits should be inspected 

 daily. -A. H. E. 



7;3:j. Soft Shell Almond. The culture of the 

 Almond is exactly the same as that of the Peach, 

 except that the tree is nf)t (lulte so hardy to 

 withstand cold, and it blooms very early in the 

 spring, therefore its bl()om is liable to be de- 

 stroyed by spiing frosts, and shouM have 

 a high situation on a rich, dry, warm soil. The 

 Hard Shell Almond is si>mcwhat hardier thiui the 

 soft. They should do fairly well in Virginia 

 (m sandy, high lands. Here in CalitVtrnia they do 

 finely on the "thermal belt of the foot hilLs," 

 where there are n<i spring frosts, and we have no 

 Plum rurculio to injure the fruit. It Is a sure 

 and profitable crop. D. IJ. W. 



75tj. Propagating Magnolia Orandiflora. So 

 soon as the seed is riiK', which may be known by 

 the see<ls jtrotruding from the cones and hang- 

 ing from them liy the "umbilical cord," they 

 should be gathered, washed free from pulp, and 

 placed in boxes in moist sand and kept in a moist 

 and cotd place until spring, keeping the sand all 

 the time moist, covering the set!ds from an inch 

 to an inch and a half deep. The sand should 

 have some vegetable mold in it, and should be 

 si.x to eight jiches deep. So soon as the weather 

 is warm in the sirring, s<-t the boxes in a warm, 

 sha<Ied place. The young jdants must be kej)t 

 shaded the first sciuson and constantly moist. 

 When the wedlings have made thi*ee or f<iur 

 h'aves, the boxes may be pluuRcd in the soil in a 

 shacled, sheltered place. In this California 

 climate the seedlings should be shclt<'rcd from 

 the dry ea-st arnl north winds. If the seed is good 

 this iilan should grow seediings. The sectfud 

 seas()n th<!y may be plantoi in sheltc^red nursery 

 rows. Where the winters are severe of eoin\se 

 the seedlings would need to be wintered in a cool 

 gi'cen luaise. At Santa Barbara an oiled cov- 

 ered nit would perhaps be best. Seed on young, 

 and that from isolated trees would perhai)S not 

 be good from want of fertilization.- D. B. Wieh. 



701. Cucumber Pickle Making. CucumUi-M 

 fresh from tht; vines are wiped clean and put in 

 strong brine for nine days. They can Iw sent to 

 market in brine in whiskery barrels, or drained 

 and soaked 'M Innii-s, changing the water twice, 

 then put in vinegar. Uenn)vc all soft Cucumbers, 

 which will spoil the whole. Have a porcelain 

 kettle half full of !»oiling vinegar, fill with well- 

 drained Cucumbei's from the fresh wat^rr and let 

 thetn scald a moment, then lay in a stone Jar 

 covered with vinegar spiced, scalded and cooled. 

 It should cover the pickles three inches to allow 

 for evaporation. To each gallon of vinegar add 

 one pod of red pepper, a half teaspoonful of 

 cloves, unground. and three large slices <»f horse- 

 radish, which last |)revents scum rising. Pickles 

 in vinegar aW* usually sent to market in wootlcii 

 pails, broader at the base, with close cover of 

 wood. Salt jiickles for wholesale dealers are i^nt 

 In the largest sized casks that will hold brine. 

 Very little water is used; the Cucumbers laiil in 

 salt make their own brine.— S. D. 



<K)7. Putting up Currants and Gooseberries. 



G<joseberry jam is most jiopular. "Top and fjiil " 

 these berries, reads the old English recipe 1 fol- 

 low, crush them with a wooden spoon in an 

 enameled pan or kettle, and let them boil over a 

 UKMlerate fire five minutes. Put no water to 

 them, but simmer in their own juice. .lust as 

 s(ton as tender add half the weight of sugar, 

 heated in the oven and boil together fast, stirring 

 all the time for five or ten minutes more. Wat- 

 ering fruit on a damp day needs the longer boil- 

 ing. Cool before imtting in jai-sand seal. Cur- 

 rant jelly is the only sweet worth making from 

 Currants. Pick them in earliest ripeness, as soon 

 as colored, stem and squeeze in a crash hag be- 

 tween boards or in a wooden vise. To every pint 

 measure three-fourths the quantity of sutrar, 

 fine granulated preferre*:!, and stir into the juice 

 without cooking at all. Stir till the sugar is dis- 

 solved, and set the tumblers filled with the Cur- 

 rant in the sun, covering with pieces of window 

 glass. Keei'ing in full sun a day or two, and the 

 finest, freshest jelly results.— Shirley Dare. 



7.'i4, Blackberry Propagation. Tlie cvittings can 

 hi', made any time after the canes ripen, until the 

 ground freezes up. Cut the roots into i>ieces 

 about two inches hmg and pack in boxes with 

 sand or light soil. Put the boxes where they will 

 not freeze, so the callousing process may go on all 

 winter. They should have sufficient moisture to 

 keep them from becoming dry, but not too 

 much or the cuttings at the bottom of the box 

 will become waterlogged and will rot. Early in 

 the spring they should be set in light soil that is 

 moderately rich, three or four inches apart, and 

 f<mr Inches deep. Have the rows far enough 

 apart so that a horse cultivator can be used. 

 After i)lanting. the land should be rolled to keep 

 it from drying up. If there happened to be a dry 

 time early in the season, some of the plants 

 not having made much root, may die. Should 

 heavy rains occur before the plants up, a steel 

 rake "should Ik' passed over the rows to break the 

 crust so the plants can come uj) easily. Keep 

 free from weeds during the season. I have 

 grown fine plants by the above plan, many of 

 which bore fruit tlu- next sciLson. In the fall the 

 plants are ready to be set in the field. I advise 

 fall planting of the lllaekl)erry, l>ecause (he first 

 time they fruit I get more than double the crop 

 that I can get from spring set fields.- J. H. 

 Umi'LEUy, Xiifth hJvfuis, N. Y. 



750. Potatoes -Two Crops a Season. I^otatoea 

 will not grow If dug and planted immediately 

 after maturity ui the summer. It is said that 

 they will grow freely, however, if exposed to the 

 rays of the sun, in a warm place, as on the roof 

 (d' a building, for ten days or so l>efore planting. 

 In Tennessee farmers sometimes grow a second 

 crop ()f fair-sized tubei"s in this way.— E, S. G. 



7t>7. Nitrate of Soda, Its proiH.'r name is 

 Nitrate of Soda. You shimld buy it under that 

 mune and that oidy. It is sometimes called Chili 

 Salt Petre or Cuban Salt Petre. But it is now 

 well known to commerce as Nitrate of S(Hla. We 

 import it annually into this country from the 

 beds on the West coast <»f South America; atmut 

 ty),iH>t) toiLs a year. It is used principally for 

 making Nitric Aci<l and cheap gun powtler and 

 fire-works. It is use4l only t^) a very small extent 

 a.s a fertilJzcM', and that Is the reason you du not 

 fin<l it in the catjdogues. 



t>'<l. Eoot-grafting-Various Trees. T have 



bought IMum an I'eai" i"oot grafts that did preity 

 well. Ha\e root-giafted Plum. Pear and (Quin- 

 ces, with varied success. Take the root up in the 

 fall, keep in a cellar in moist sand. In February 

 or Manli (Mit the roots in i>i<'ces two or three 

 inches, the graft the itic<-s long. Put together 

 in the spliced p<'ar ; lay in boxes in sand or saw- 

 dust until platUinif time. I. however, keep bud- 

 ding the Pear. an<l the Quince grows so readily 

 from cuttings that I will graft no more. 



<>5(;. Cleaning Waste Pipes. 1 am hardly 

 chemist enough to give information on this sub- 

 ject, but wouM use salt and vinegar, copperius 

 tlissolved in water, force*l through the piiK's and 

 follow with cU'an water to rinse it out. A 

 solution of Carbidic acid 1 know wtmlddo it, but 

 might act on the metal some. 



