1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



243 



little ragged, but could not see anything to 

 make them so, till finally upon lifting the 

 branches so as to see all of the ground un- 

 der them, found quite a lot of these worms 

 lying at the base of the plants and on the 

 underside of the oldest leaves. These worms 

 seem to do most of their eating during 

 the night and while the leaves are wet. 

 Persistent hunting out and killing by hand 

 is a sure way of getting rid of them, and 

 where one has only a few plants it is probably 

 the easiest, but where raised on a large scale 

 something applied which would keep them 

 off or kill them, and at the same time not 

 injure the blossoms would be worth con- 

 siderable, should the plague become general 

 and very destructive. 



Having grown Pansies in about all the 

 different degrees of shade and sunlight, I 

 would say if you wish to raise the largest 

 and finest colored blooms set them where 

 they will be sheltered fi-om fierce winds and 

 in the sun all, or nearly all day. Make the 

 ground rich with rotted manure and a little 

 phosphate; where this cannot be had, use old 

 rotted leaf mold with phosphate. Fresli 

 manure may be used but is more heating, 

 and the soil where this is used will not 

 hold the moisture as well. 



Pansy plants, from spring-sown seed, will 

 live over winter without much care, but 

 those from fall-sown seed that have been 

 wintered over in cold frames need to have 

 most of the large branches broken off in 

 August so the new ones will have a chance 

 to grow. Treated with a light covering of 

 old (lower stalks thrown over them after 

 the ground freezes, they winter nicely. In 

 exposed situations, coarse straw held in 

 place by a few Evergreen branches is better. 



An Effective Home-made Law^n or 

 Garden Sprinkler. 



L. L. ESENHOWER, BERKS CO., PA. 



I have a lawn sprinkler that does effective 

 work throwing water further than the more 

 expensive rotary sprinkler, yet the cost is but 

 a trifle, and this I would like to describe to 

 the reatlers of Popular Gardening. 



It is to be supposed that you already pos- 

 sess a garden hose; now tie the nozzle of it 

 to a stake about five feet long, driven into 

 the ground to point directly upward; then 

 take a short piece of one-foiirth inch rubber 

 fulling about 12 to 18 inches long, according 

 to the amount of pressure you have, (the 

 greater the pressure the shorter the tul)ing 

 must be), and strip it over the nozzle. At 

 the other end of 

 this rubber tube, 

 insert a short 

 piece of brass 

 tubing with a 

 very small bore, 

 in most ca.ses 

 one-sixteenth of 

 an inch is large 

 enough, and 

 about one inch 

 long; bevel off 

 the front end at 

 an angle of 45 

 degrees; ream 

 out this brass 

 tube in such a 

 way that the 

 front end will be 

 a trifle smaller 

 than the back. Any watch or clock maker 

 will do this for a trifle. This is to make 

 the water act on the front the most. 



After tying all parts securely, turn on the 

 water, and you will be astonished at the 

 actions of this sliort piece of hose, there is 

 not a conceivable twist, curve or manifuver 

 it does not perform. The first one we made 

 caused such amusement that crowds gath- 

 ered on the sidewalk to watch its antics on 



An Effective Homi-Made 

 Sprinkler. 



the lawn, many wondering where the power 

 came from to throw water in that style. 



If you do not want to be put to the trouble 

 and expense of the small brass tube, you 

 can put a wooden plug in the end of the 

 rubber tube, and cut a very small slit in the 

 hose right back of the wooden plug, as 

 shown in the small cut; this also gives good 

 results but not as good as the brass tube. 



This sprinkler is veiy well adapted for the 

 vegetable garden; set it in the evening and 

 let it sprinkle all night. Ours gave us ex- 

 cellent crops of vegetables while our neigh- 

 bors' crops were destroyed by the drought. 

 It throws water in a radius of 20 feet frcmi 

 the center. It can be used in one place one 

 night and be placed in another the next. We 

 have been thinking of using a number of 

 them connected so as to cover a large area, 

 thus getting good crops of vegetables, etc., 

 when the dry weather would make it almost 

 impossible to obtain any. 



Preparing Hot-bed and Potting 

 Loam. 



The majority of all plants grown in pots 

 are well satisfied to grow in a soil prepared 

 as follows: At any time before winter, 

 but August is the preferable time, gather 

 in a pile, sod, in whatever quantity is 

 recjuired. This may be procured from the 

 fence corners of cultivated plots, from the 

 surface of freshly-plowed and harrowed 

 pasture land, or from the road-side. Any 

 sod, if not too heavy a soil, is good. 



This .sod should then lay in a pile for a 

 year or more, watering it occasionally to 

 promote decay, when by throwing the mass 

 al)out, it is ready for use, by adding a third 

 in bulk of well-rotted manure. 



While such a course requires but little 

 trouble, yet, for ourselves, we prefer taking 

 more time and pains in the preparation of 

 our potting soil, and so build the material 

 into a neat oblong pile, some four feet high, 

 extending it as neces.sary. First, there is 

 placed a four-inch layer of sod, then three 

 inches of green cow manure, thus 

 ing until a sufficient quantity is prepared; 

 when convenient to be obtained from brew- 

 eries, we like an addition of about a quarter 

 of spent hops, which tend to lighten the 

 soil, to three-fiuarters manure, this not being 

 absolutely essential, however. 



The top of our pile is left cup-shaped, and 

 is filled with water a number of times, 

 especially in a dry season. After laying 

 till the following spring, the whole mass is 

 thrown over, cutting it as finely as possible, 

 then lajing till autumn, when it is in fit 

 condition for use in preparing for winter. 

 With each succeeding year, the unused 

 portion continues to improve. 



Such a prepared soil also is a splendid 

 material with which to top-dress crops of 

 all kinds, as well as for applying in the hill, 

 containing as it does to a high degree, the 

 essential elements for vigorous plant- 

 growth. For potting purposes, the addition 

 of a little sand or finely-sifted coal ashes, 

 may be beneficial in lightening it some- 

 what, especially for Fuchsias, Begonias, 

 Ferns, and similar soft variety sorts. 



pitious, the frilling was more pronounced. 

 Mr, fial)l)ett had observed this peculiarity 

 for four or five years. We have not learned 

 of any attempt to improve on this peculiar- 

 ity, lor the purpose of creating a fixed type 

 of the variation, vvhicli we should think 

 is well worth striving for. 



7.54. Blackberry Propagation. One plan is to 

 cut down the roots all iimiiml the plants a few 

 feet from the stalks with u sharp spaile, thus 

 cuttintr thom off where they will send up ahoots, 

 hut this is a rude plan, and the plants are no 

 better in tlic long run, while much moi-c incon- 

 venient to handle. The bftst plan is to take up 

 the roots in the fall, cut them up in jiiecesof two 

 or three inches in leuf?th, pack in flue siuid so 



Daffodil With Crested Corona. 



In a recent issue of the London Garden- 

 er's Chronicle there appeared an illustration 

 of a singularly formed Daffodil, and which 

 we have had re-engraved for our columns iis 

 annexed. This curious Daffodil appeared 

 among the collection of plants growing on 

 a lawn in Limerick County. 



The "frill," or outgrowth is produced 

 from the outer surface of the corona, which 

 has thus a very peculiar appearance. Mr. 

 Gabbett, the owner, reports that six 

 blooms were so affected, and that in former 

 years, when the weather was more pro- 



A Singular Daffodil hamnn a Crested Corona. 



that they don't touch each other. Keep in a 

 cellar in a damp condition. In the spring .sow 

 them in drilLs six inches broad in rows foiu- feet 

 apart, covcinnj? two or three inches deep. The 

 njot piicc.'sshould not be cUjscr than three inches 

 ilternntiWli iiiuki- stning plants. If this is not done in the 

 ^lil, tliry iiin he taken up in the sprinif. hut not 

 with as good success.- S. M. 



TIV). Grape Vines from CuttingB. I make my 

 cuttings in the fall from six to ten inches long, 

 acconling to the joints. Cut sloping under a bud 

 close below, with the point on the side of the eye. 

 Cut halt an inch above the upper hud in like 

 manner. Tie in bundles of 100 or 150 each. Make 

 a trench so deep that they will be covered six 

 inches when set in and the ground put on them. 

 In the spring as soon as the ground can be got 

 int<), not too wet, take them up and return to 

 the pit with the tops down, until the ground gets 

 warm. In rows four leet apart, cut down with a 

 spade at an angle of forty-flve dcgrcos, lay the 

 cuttings in, three inches apart with tin- tup hud 

 half un inch below the surface, draw the riutli 

 on them, pressing firmly. Working them th(jr- 

 oughly I deem better than mulching. If this is 

 not done then a mulch will be beneficial,— S, M, 



779. Best Keeping Grapes. The following are 

 good winter keepers; Agawam, Bright<3n. Can. 

 ada, Croton, Catawba. Duchess, lona, Jefferson, 

 Lindley, Merrimac, Rebecca, Salem. Vergennes. 

 Wilder, and Walter.— D. S. Marvin. 



734. Filbert Culture. The bushes should have 

 at least 10 feet between them. Will beai- at six 

 vears of age. Pecan, Spanish Chestnuts and En- 

 lish Walnuts though, would prove equally hai-dy, 

 while doubly remunerative.- Mas. J. S. K. Thom- 

 SON, SiJarInn C'u., .S. C. 



B69. Eoses-Treatment and Temperature. No.l. 

 It is preferable to plant the Hoses on the tables 

 as early in June as you can, keeping them as 

 cool as possible and admitting ail the ventilation 

 possible night and day. No. 2. Perlc, Bride, 

 Niphctos, Mermet, Beauty and LaFruuce wdl 

 grow well together in about the same tempera- 

 ture Mme. de Watteville, Mme. Cusin, Papa 

 Gontier, Sunset, a little lower temperature than 

 the first named. Bon Silene, Safrano, Brabant, 

 Ulolre de Dijon, a little cooler than the second 

 named. A night tvmpcrature of .52" to b2°, with 

 other mttttei-satlcndcd to, produces good Roses.— 

 Chas. Anderson, Queens Co., N. Y. 



741. Black Knot on Plums. Examine the trees 

 occasionally or frequently during the spring and 

 cut off every branch or twig that shows a knot 

 or tumor and burn them. See that no knots or 

 tuinorsareon the wild trees in your immediate 

 vicinity, or else all your labor will be in vain. 



