POPULAR GARDENING 



AND FRUIT GROWING. 



"ACCUSE NOT NATURE, SHE HATB DONE HER PART; DO THOU BUT THINE."— Miutov. 



Vol. III. 



SEI^TEnvCSEU,, 1888- 



No. 12. 



Feathery clouds arc few aud fair. 

 Thistle down Is on the air. 

 Rippling sunshine on the lake. 

 Wild Grapes scent the sunny brake. 

 Wild bees murmuring take the ear. 

 Crickets make the silence dear: 

 Butterflies float In ii dream. 

 Over all the swallows Kleaui. 

 Here aud yonder, hlKh and low, 

 Goldenrod and Snutiowers glow. 

 Here and there a Maple flushes, 

 Summer reddens, Woodbine blushes. 

 Purple Asters bloom and thrive— 

 I am glad to be alive! 



—Robert Kcllu Weeks. 



It is the welt labeled e,\bibit that holds the at- 

 tention of Nisitors to the fairs, and which in- 

 structs at the same time. 



Cannas from Seed. A (jroup of these stately 

 plants if i>roperl.v located, maltesa fine ornament 

 to any dooryard, and l)y arrowing tliem from seed, 

 any one can have a line (rroup in a couple of years. 



A Cabbage Disease that is affectiuK the crop 

 along the Hudson River, N.Y., has a resemblance 

 to Peach yellows. After growinjf well for a time 

 the plant seems blij^ht^d and dies. The crop in 

 that section is likely to be less than half the aver- 

 age because of this ailment. 



Bdrnino Tent Caterpii.hus. Heferringto the 

 use of a kerosene soaked brick for destroying 

 these worms a-s recommended by the Entomolo- 

 gist of the Department of Agriculture. Prof. 

 Cook says: True we can thus kill nearly all the 

 insects, but, at the same time, often the tree 

 itself. I would advise the use of arsenites or 

 other poisonous sprays instead. 



Packing Pears. The French, who export 

 more Pears than any other nation, cover the 

 inside of the boxes with spongy paper or dry 

 moss, which absorbs the moisture. Each Pear 

 is then wrapped in soft paper and placed in 

 layers in the bottom, filling all interstices with 

 the dry moss. Thus they will keep a month or 

 more. They are so packed that they cannot 

 touch each other, and all motion is prevented. 

 If one decays the others are not harmed. 



About Some Tomatoes. Seeing it stated that 

 Acme, introduced by Mr. Li^^ngstone, was the 

 first smooth Tomato, it ought not to be forgotten 

 that Hathaway's Excelsior was grown exten- 

 sively all over the country long before the Acme, 

 which probably got its smoothness and tendency 

 to rot from it. The Boston Market is a still older, 

 rounder, smoother sort; on this. Early Essex was 

 an improvement, and is nearly identical with the 

 Advance and Acme in a number of respects. It 

 also seems to have come from healthier stock as 

 it shows no disease where others do. The most 

 remarkable development toward the future per- 

 fect Tomato is in the Early Dwarf Champion 

 introduced this season. It has a very strong 

 stocky stem branching close to the ground, and 

 nearly self-supporting. The fruit is of good 

 uniform size, smooth, and early. I think it will 

 be found nearly the earliest. With this variety 

 to start with, there is reason to believe that other 

 Tomatoes superior to those now cultivated, may 

 be produced.— fl. W. Hargadinc. 



Experimental Strawberry Plat. "At Wood- 

 banks" the setting out of all varieties of Straw- 

 berries of which pot plants could be procured is 

 now being completed. These comprise over 4.T 

 varieties, including both old and new ones, down 

 to the very latest as follows: Alpine Wood, Belle 

 Bordelaise, Bidwell, Belmont, Bubach .5, Burt's 

 Seedling, Bomba, Cohanzic, Champion, Crescent, 

 Cumberland, Crimson Cluster, Cloud's .Seedling, 

 Downing, Duchess, Dutter's Seedling, Gandy, 

 Gold, Golden Defiance, Hampden, Haverland, 



Henderson, Itasca, Ivanhoe, Jessie, Jerstw QutH?n, 

 ,Jewell, Louise, Logan, Long John, Miner's Pro- 

 line, Mount Vernon, Manchester, May King, 

 Montrieul, Monmouth, Ontario, Peurl, Parry, 

 Prince of Berries, Pineapple, Royal Ihuitbois, 

 Sharpless, Triomphe de (land, WarHclil, WiLson, 

 A little later some other kinds, of which no 

 potted |>lants could now be procured, will lie 

 added to the collection. This is but the begin- 

 ning in the planting <mt of many kinds of fruit 

 as well as ornamental growths at these grounds, 

 tor the purpose of i)lacing at the command of 

 our readers, the results of different methods of 

 culture, and of the comparison of varieties both 

 new and old, grown under like conditions. 



The Society of American Florists. A 

 report, reaches us as the last form of the present 

 issue is being closed, that the fourth annual con- 

 vention of this society now being held in New 

 York City is a very successful one. The atteiul- 

 ance has been large and enthusiastic, and the 

 papers read of a high order of merit. Some of 

 the latter will appear in these columns later. 

 Acct)rding to the secretary's report the society 

 now has the remarkable membership of !IS4, an 

 increase of '2U0 in the last twelve months. Dele- 

 gates were present at the meeting from all parts 

 of the country, and as usual there was a good 

 sprinkling of women among the members pres- 

 ent. The convention was greatly pleased with 

 Peter Henderson's report of the work of the com- 

 mittee appointed last year to secure a reduction 

 in postal rates, as noticed in these columns 

 last month. " We have got it down," said Mr. 

 Henderson, " from IB cents a pound to 8 cents 

 for plants and cuttings." The reports of the 

 committee on securing a reduction in the express 

 companies' rates, and the duty on bulbs were not 

 so pleasing. The following ofllcers were elected 

 for the ensuing year: President, Jno. N. May, 

 Summit, N. J.; Vice President, W. J. Palmer, 

 Buffalo; Secretary, W. J. Stewart, Boston, re- 

 clected;,Treasurer, M. A. Hunt.Terre Haute, Ind. 

 The display of flowers, plants, florists goods, etc., 

 was satisfactory, save for being crowded into 

 rather close grounds. 



Shade Trees by the Highway. 



WM. H. VOEMANS. TOLLAND CO., CONN. 



There is a saying that the roads of a coun- 

 try are an index to its civilization; however 

 that may be, it may very well be said, that 

 the appearance and general condition of the 

 sides of highways are indications of the 

 aesthetic culture of the people, or of their 

 sense of appreciation of the beautiful. 



Saying nothing about any efforts towards 

 the improvement of the sides of roads, by 

 refraining from making them a receptacle 

 for the rubbish of the farm, and by cutting 

 bushes, removing stones, etc., it is a wonder 

 that there is such a laxity in the matter of 

 setting shade trees. In traveling through 

 the country there are cases noticed, where 

 trees have been planted and become an or- 

 nament; but these cases are few and far 

 between. With some there seems to be a 

 hatred of shade under any circumstances : 

 we have seen trees in pastures that afforded 

 refreshing shade for animals, cut so that 

 they wotild not spend their time in lying 

 down wlien they should be feeding. In the 

 severely warm weather of summer.man does 

 not refuse to avail himself of the refreshing 

 influence of shade; then why not provide it 

 on the highways, when it can be done at so 

 little trouble. 



On the entire line of our road stands a row 

 of shade trees, chiefly Rock Maple that were 

 set by an ancestor when the writer was a 



boy, which now funilsh a complete shade 

 the entire distance. If as some claim they 

 are an injury to the ad.ioiiiing flelds, hun- 

 dreds of dollars would not secure the re- 

 moval. Such cases as tliis are found in the 

 desert but are not common. 



If the objection is that there is expense 

 without return, then let the sides of the 

 road be beaiitirted by setting fruit trees, 

 from which an income may be derived; or 

 .set them to nut bearing trees, that will, 

 after sufflcient gi-owth, give returns that 

 will be valuable. 



The attractions that present themselves 

 to the eye, are what exert an influence in 

 securing the adoi)tioii of residences by 

 tho.se who leave the cities and seek country 

 life. There is never any loss in putting 

 forth some effort to make a place appear 

 pleasant and attractive. 



Ten Suggestions for the Kitchen 

 Garden. 



BY L. H. BAILEY, AURICULTURAL COLLEOE, HICU. 



1. Don't deprive yourself and family of 

 fruits and vegetables. 



3. Uon't depend upon wild berries. 



3. Don't depend upon the market. 



4. Don't set aside your poorest land for 

 the garden. 



5. Don't plant in a restricted area which 

 is closely fenced in. 



fi. Don't plant in little beds. 



7. Don't plant in an old orchard. 



8. Don't plant largely of anything which 

 will demand great labor when farm or other 

 work is most pressing. 



9. Don't get plants or seeds from 

 neighbors who are neglectful in culture, 

 who grow indifferent products. 



10. Don't put faith in novelties. 



The Commonplace Made Orna- 

 mental. 

 To make the ttseful serve an ornamental 

 end, should be the aim of everyone who is 

 fitting up grounds. Sometime since, we saw 

 a capital illustration of this idea as carried 

 out in the fruit and market garden of D. M. 

 Dunning, Esq.,Caj'uga Co., N.Y., in the case 



31^ 



An Ornamental Board Fente. 



of so common a thing as a fence made of 

 rough lumber. It was the fence which sur- 

 rounds this gentleman's large fruit and 

 market grounds. 



The boards used in the construction of the 

 fence referred to were of a uniform width, 

 perhaps measuring ten inches across, and 

 these instead of being nailed up and down 

 against rails after the present fa,shion in 

 close board fences, were reclined at an angle 

 of 4.5', as shown to the left in our engraving. 

 The result was a fence uniformly notched 

 at the top, and with its lines running at 

 variance with the numerous horizontal or 



