1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



249 



strengrth, eiiflurance and vivacity to those who 

 regard themselves as well, but restore the sick 

 and debilitated to health, when eaten freely 

 durinif the vintage times of the year, in the 

 vineyards, or fresh from the city maritcts. As a 

 practical illustration of their health-inspirins,' 

 qualities is the case of Mrs. Phoebe Swarthout, 

 who resides with her son-in-Uiw, J. F. Crosby, an 

 extensive Grape-iirrower on Lake Keuka, N. V. 

 Mrs. Swarthout was ninety-four years old in 

 January last, and now is in good liealth and 

 strength, although she sustained a fracture of 

 the arm three yeai-s ago and again a year hit^^'r, 

 by being thrown from a carriage, but the broken 

 arm is as sound as e\'er. Mrs. Swarthout has l>een 

 a Grape-eater for years, and is Hrm in her belief 

 that she could not live withoutthem. 'She begins 

 with the earliest G rapes in August, and has eut<;n 

 an average of two pounds a day during the sea- 

 son. It is also a well established fact in Grape 

 regions that the large number of girls who work 

 among Gi'apes continuously through the season 

 of picking and shipping, which is from Septem- 

 ber to December, or later, gain in flesh from live 

 to twenty pounds, and many who come from the 

 cities in delicate health, return to their homes 

 well and strong.— The Viueyardist. 



Double Grape Trellis. I claim for this trellis 

 two distinct ad\'ant^iges: convenience, where 

 (as in my latitude), (irapes are seriously injured 

 by hard freezing in winter, and again sjiving of 

 timber and expense. Every Grape-gr<Jwer knows 

 how (|uickly an ordinary post set in the grounil 

 and kept moist by the dense foliage of a Grajje- 

 viue hiding the sun's rays, will rot olT near the 

 surface of the ground, and need to be replaced. 

 In my plan, the pin or bolt can be withdrawn, 

 the old portion planted in the ground taken out 

 and another put in its place. For general held 

 culture, by those who think eight feet between 

 the rows a waste of land (I do not), they can be 

 planted closer, and the trellises laid down single 

 fashion. And again, where Grapes do not rot, 

 it would not be necessary to train the vines so 

 high, but with me, eight feet is none too high. 

 It is constructed by talring three pieces of 3 -x 4 

 mch scantling, eight feet long, setting them on 

 edge, and girding them with 4-inch boards at the 

 top, in the middle, and also at the bottom. The 

 pieces for uprights should be mitered at the top, 

 while the lower ends should have rounded 

 tenons, to be inserted in mortices cut in the 

 short posts planted in the ground <see illustra- 

 tion), where two frames are shown in position, 

 and joined at the top, like rafters of a roof. 

 They are secured at the upper part by a common 

 latch. This is a combined trellis, alfording a sup- 

 port for two rows of grapes. — Prairie Farmer. 



Home-saved Seeds. The saving of seeds at 

 home is another vexed question in the garden, 

 and I dare say it will continue so for all time as 

 there are many who for want of the practical 

 knowledge on the subject have an idea that the 

 gardener should be able to save a greater part of 

 the seeds he re- 

 quires. He might 

 do so, but in a 

 good many cases 

 it would end in 

 disappointment 

 to all concerned. 

 In the first place 

 seed saving is 

 attended with 

 greater diflicul- 



~ „ .^, „ ' „ „. ty than many 



Double Grape Trellts. ^. 



"^ suppose, as the 



different crops require to be so isolated that 

 the different sorts do not become mixed, and 

 it is practically impossible for the ordinary 

 gardener to keep all of the crops pure. These 

 remarks apply to the Brassica family chiefly, 

 and they are the most expensive seeds to pur- 

 chase. I can fancy the disappointment of the 

 owner of a garden going round some morn- 

 ing and finding as a result of the seeds being 

 grown at home that two-thirds of his crops of 

 Cauliflower or Broccoli! are useless, or consisting 

 of what gardeners call " rogues," which are use- 

 less for the table. Then again any crop that has 

 to remain upon the ground until the seeds are 

 matured exhausts the soil considerably more 

 than one removed earlier. In addition there is 

 the loss of time in waiting for the crop to ripen, 

 which very often means the loss of a crop. When 

 we look at the low price at which the seedsmen 

 can furnish good seed, there is not much to be 

 gained, even if it were convenient to make the 

 attempt to save seeds at home.— Gard. Chron. 



Ailanthns and Rosebues. H. It. Luekenbach, 

 Northampton County, Pa., writes us that Hoses 

 and the flowers of the Grape were formerly 

 destroyed by the Kose bug, but since the intro- 

 duction of the Ailanthus the bugs have entirely 

 disappeared. Mr. I,, also adds that he was 

 informed by a friend now deceased, but whose 

 veracity no one would doubt, that he has seen in 

 his native village in the same county, where 

 there were several Ailanthus trees in the public 

 .S(iuare, that the ground under the trees was 

 covered with dead Rose bugs. The Rose bug is 

 generally regarded as the most ditflcult to deal 

 with of all the insects of cultivation, and it 

 would l>e most welcome news if the Ailanthus 

 could Ix' relied upon to rid us of it. Observations 

 are wanted to ascertain if this jirojierty is due to 

 the inipleasant exhalation given off by the tree 

 when in bloom, or if the offensive odor of the 

 leaves when bruised may serve as an insecticide. 

 The statement is of great importance, and while 

 we do not doubt that the Kose bugs were 

 destroyed, wo trust that all who are so situated 

 that they can make observations and experi- 

 ments as to whether the insects were killed, 

 by the trees, and the conditions under which 

 they may lie made to repeat their u.seful work, 

 will do so and report.— American Agriculturist. 



Pear Blight Beetle. Mr. B. W. Hartwell, Lin- 

 den, N. Y., complains of minute black beetle, 

 that tunnels through and through his Pear trees, 

 doing much damage. It is Xyleborus pyri (Tom- 

 icus pyri). The insect is brown or black in 

 color, with red antennje and legs. The thorax 

 (part next to the head) is almost globular. The 

 wing covers are densely punctured; the body is 

 very abniptly cut off Ijehind. The beetles hiy 

 their eggs just at the base of the buds, and the 

 newly-hatched grub eats its way into the twigs 

 and bi-anches, greatly to the injury of the trees. 

 The beetles can be seen merging from the bur- 

 rows in June and July. 



It was formerly supposed that this insect at- 

 tacked only diseased trees; but this is surely a 

 mistake. It is mostly confined to the Pear, but 

 has been known to tunnel the Apple and Plum. 

 Its presence is shown by its blighting effects; 

 the attacked twigs wilt and die. The best known 

 treatment is to cut and burn the affected 

 branches as soon as they show the disease. As 

 the same treatment is recommended for the 

 fatjil Pear blight, it may well be urged that all 

 blighted branches of Pear trees be promptly 

 cut and burned as the blight appears. — Professor 

 Cook, in Tribinie. 



Fruits and Fevers. As a rule fruit and vege- 

 tables form the most appropriate summer diet. 

 In climates where beef -eaters perish by scores, 

 vegetarians manage to sur\ive to a hoary old 

 age, as in Para, Brazil, where the fever hospitals 

 are filled with carniverous foreignei-s, whfle the 

 frugal natives enjoy all the health compatible 

 with their passion for Tobacco. In the East, the 

 pandemic plagues that depopulate whtile dis- 

 tricts rarely originate among the frugal Hindoos, 

 but start among the foreign residents or the om- 

 nivorous Chinese. In our Southern States, how- 

 ever, the natives belle%'e that a vegetarian diet ag- 

 gravates the danger of contagious fevers, and 

 that idea can be explained only by their experi- 

 ence with stale fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruit, 

 on the other hand, rather counteracts any fever- 

 ish tendency; but as an additional precaution, it 

 can do no harm to cook (or parboil) all vegetable 

 substances a few minutes before meals. Heat de- 

 stroys the vitality of the morbific germs, and 

 ma.v in some improve the digestible qualities of 

 green fruit.— Phila. Weekly Press. 



The Kind of Fruit Indigestible. That the rind 

 or " skin " of all fruit is more or less indiges- 

 tible is a fact that should not be forgotten. We 

 say ail fruit, and the statement must be under- 

 stood to include the pellicle of kernels and nuts 

 of all kinds. The edible par-t of fruit is pecul- 

 iarly delicate, and liable to rajiid decomposition 

 if exposed to the atmosphere. It is, therefore, 

 a wise provision of Nature to place a strong and 

 imper\'iou8 coating over it, a.s a protection 

 against accident, and to prevent insect enemies 

 from destroying the seed within. The skin of 

 Plums is wonderfully strong compared with its 

 thickness, and resists the action of water and 

 many soh'ents in a remarkable manner. If not 

 thni-oughly masticated before taken into the 

 stomach this skin is rarely, if ever, dissolved by 

 the gastric juice. In some cases pieces of it ad- 

 here to the coats of the stomach as wet paper 

 clings to bodies, causing more or less disturbance 

 or inconvenience. Itaisins and dried Currants 

 are particularly troublesome in this way, and, if 



not chopped U]) Ixdore cooking, should be thor- 

 oughly chewed liefore swallowing. If a dried 

 Currant paRses into the stomach whole, it is never 

 digc'st<'d at all.- Popular Science News. 



Praise of White Pine, white Pine, when 



cut back aiunnilly after it has reached a 



height of six or eight feet, becomes compactly 



co\ered with line, thick, soft, hair-like foliage, 



and soon submits to remain <lwarl'(!d. This is an 



added merit in this beautiful ami invaluable 



American tree. It is reported to endure the dry 



and trying <:li- 



m a t e of at 



least a large 



portion of the 



States west of 



the upper 



Mississippi. 



But it .seems 



_" . D /■ c. .1 . "'so likely to 



Qreenhouse Roof Strengtltf7iea. . ^ „ i *-h . 



most beautiful and effective i)lant for shelter 

 hedges against the winds, that jircvail West. 

 Cattle will not browse it, b\it they sometimes 

 injure the plants b.y rubbing their heads in 

 them in spring-time. This can be prt'vented 

 by a stretch of barbed wire at about :!0 inches 

 from the ground, or by two strands at 'M and 

 '■Hi inches. Robert Douglas, our best authority 

 on growing yf)Ung timber trees, recommends 

 the White Pine as eciual to the Hemlock or 

 Spruce for hedges.— New York Tribune. 



Strength for a Greenhouse Hoof, one of the 

 lessons of tht- late blizzard was the necessity of 

 thoroughly bracing greenhouse roofs. The 

 device shown in the Figure is a form of bracing 

 which materially strengthens the house and les- 

 sens the liability of spreading, while it in no wise 

 interferes with the architectural appearance of 

 the house. It consists of pieces of gas pijie or 

 solid iron rods, bent in the the form of a bow or 

 arch and placed say 30 feet apart down the cen- 

 ter of the house. The bottoms of the rods are 

 inserted into the tops of the po.sts supporting the 

 bed. A thread is cut on the bottom of the pii)e 

 or rod and a nut, a, put on, the nut resting upon 

 a washer, ?>, which covers the whole top of the 

 post. As a matter of course, its length and form 

 can be modified according to best suit the size 

 and form of the house. The device is not patent- 

 ed. —Rural Now Yorker. 



Good Fruit for Evaporation. From the glut 

 of imsalable evaporated fruit, which prevailed 

 so long last year and into this season, fruit 

 growers may learn a valuable lesson. It is only 

 to use the best, or at least good fruit, for evapor- 

 ating purposes. It is often said that poor, 

 wormy, or otherwise inferior fruit may be used 

 for drying with no chance of detection. But it 

 does make a difference in quality of the pro- 

 duct, as any one may know by a moment's 

 reflection. If the consumer connot detect poor 

 dried fruit by appearance he is apt to reject it 

 altogether, thus permanently injuring the fruit 

 growing business. In the great amount of fruit 

 now thrown upon the market, it would be a mis- 

 fortune equally for producer and consumer to 

 have its evaporated jiroduct generally discred- 

 ited.— American Cultivator. 



Apple Tree Boots. In plowing among the 

 trees a great difference is noticeable between 

 thtise thoroughly cultivated, and those neglected 

 a few years, as to the position of their roots. 

 The orchard plowed every year has most of 

 its feeding roots just below reach of the plow. 

 That left in grass, runs its feeding roots nearer 

 the surface, and the plow necessarily destroys a 

 great many. This does not injure them much 

 while the tree is dormant. As soon as the leave«i 

 appear the destruction of the roots, by plowing, 

 or anything else, is a great check to the growth 

 of the tree.— Culti\'ator, 



The English Apple Market. An unusual 

 iiuanity of dishonest packing appears to have 

 l)een practiced by apple-growers and shippers 

 during the past winter, and as usual it has 

 brought its own punishment. Bad fruit, faced 

 with two or three layers of handsome si)eci- 

 mens, was sent to England, but the fraud was 

 discovered, and the shippers lost heavily.— 

 Ciuiadian llortic\iltiirist. 



The Waste Places, There is no use having a 

 single foot of unprofitable land. We are trying 

 Pear trees along our rarines, fruit trees along 

 permanent fence rows, and forest trees on the 

 rocky points that border the brook that runs 

 diagonally across one comer of the farm.— Na- 

 tional Stockman. 



