14 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



October, 



native fruits will furnish varieties equal to those 

 of the old world, with the great advantage that 

 they will stand our climatic conditions. 



Probably we have wild fruits not yet intro- 

 duced into culture that are capable of ameliora- 

 tioQ. The Dwarf Juneberry, Amelonchier Can- 

 adensis, in certain localities offers some promise. 

 The Huckleberry and Blueberry take less 

 readily to culture, but are enough superior in 

 quality to merit more efforts tor their Improve- 

 ment. We have domesticated the Cranberry, a 

 cousin of the Huckleberry, by suiting our treat- 

 ment to its ascertained needs. 



The Huckleberry and Blueberry should become 

 profitable market fruits when we have learned 

 how to compromise between their exacting re- 

 quirements and our arbitrary culture. 



Improvement by Selection. To what extent 

 can the vigor of trees or plants that are propa- 

 gated by grafts, buds or cuttings be increased by 

 propagation from exceptionally vigorous plants? 

 Weakness and disease are transmlssable through 

 the graft. The experience of President Smith 

 with the Wilson Strawberry, and the New York 

 Agricultural Experiment Station with Potatoes, 

 have shown conclusively that in these plants, at 

 least, which are propagated by offsets, much can 

 be gained by selections from the strongest indi- 

 viduals. 



If our fiuit trees may be increased in vigor 

 in a similar way, an important point will be 

 made. The relation of the grafted or budded 

 tree to its parent needs to be thoroughly investi- 

 gated. Nurserymen have assumed that it makes 

 little difference where they obtain their cious or 

 buds when they are of proper variety, but the 

 most observing and skillful grafters insist that 

 it does make a great difference. 



Carriere, a learned French Horticulturist, de- 

 clares that in budding Roses, he can produce 

 plants that flower profusely, sparingly, or not at 

 all, by selecting buds from different parts of the 

 same plant, and he adds that it is very probable 

 that the same principles apply to fruit trees. 

 Evidently the whole science of propagation has 

 not yet been worked out. 



Past and Future of the Grape in 

 Florida. 



{Extract of paper by James E. White, read before the 

 Florida Horticultural Societt/.) 



More than thirty years ago several vine- 

 yards were established along the St. John 

 River. In 186T the late A. I. Bidvfell plant- 

 ed a vineyard near Jacksonville and three 

 years later E. H. Mason, also of Duval 

 county, planted a thousand vines, and such 

 was the success of these that in 1874 he 

 planted 2,000 more. 



As early as 1867, Geo.W. Atwood, of St. Augus- 

 tine, wrote to the Department of Agriculture at 

 Washington as follows ; " The fine European 

 varieties of this fruit, such as are cultivated 

 under glass at the north, are all hardy, and are 

 grown more or less successfully in the open air 

 in Florida, ripening at St. Augustine about the 

 1st of July. The Northern or native varieties 

 have not been sutBciently tested to form a cor- 

 rect estimate of their value " 



In 1874, the late A. 1. Bidwell, in a paper on 

 " Grape Culture " said : " In Florida, previous to 

 18(i0, several vineyards had been established on 

 the St. John's, but during the war they were 

 neglected or abandoned, and up to 1866 their cul- 

 tivation had not been resumed, with the excep- 

 tion of a few vines of Scuppernong and Augus- 

 tine Grapes, which grew mostly untrimmed and 

 luicared for." 



When I came to the state in 1867, and planted a 

 small vineyard, it was with some misgivings of 

 failure. Now, after seven years, I can say that 

 my endeavors have been successful ; and the 

 abundance of Grapes in Jacksonville, the past 

 season, is an abundant proof that others have 

 been equally so. 



The advantages Florida possesses, in point of 

 early ripening, places us beyond competition. 

 While the northern Grape grower is content 

 with three to nineteen cents per pound, we 

 can safely expect to realize from 10 to ;)0 cents. 

 After testing some forty varieties in the past 

 seven years, 1 would recommend Hartford, Dela- 

 ware, Crevelling, Ive's Seedling, Concord, 

 Itoger's 4, 1.5, I'.t and Telegraphs for early, and 

 Salem and Roger's No. 1 tor late. Of the above, 

 Hartford is the earliest. Bunch and berries 

 large; vines, vigorous and productive: ripe June 

 16th the past season. 



Delaware ripened June 23rd ; Ives, June 23rd ; 

 Telegraph June 33rd; Concord July 1st ; Merri- 

 mac, July 1st; Goethe and Salem, July (ith. 



In 187.5, A. Craig, of Tallahassee, wrote to "The 

 Semi-Tropical ": " We Hnd that the same Grapes 

 that grow well north are increased in size and 

 flavor here. The Hartford Prolific, for instance, 

 at the north is a very ordinary Grape in point 

 of flavor, and probably would not be cultivated 

 were it not for its maturing qualities,while here, 

 although not of the first quality, it is a very 

 palatable Grape." 



" Florida is frequently called the Italy of 

 America, but when we compare the yield of 

 wine per acre, Florida nearly triples her in pro- 

 duction. Italy averages 440 gallons per acre; 

 Florida may X)e safely estimated at 1,000. Our 

 still or dry wines bring from $1.50 to $3 per 

 gallon; sparkling wines command a higher price. 

 Ho Grapes for Baisins, For the future of this 

 industry in Florida, there are three lines of de- 

 velopment proposed : Raisins, wine, and table 

 Grapes. As to the first, viz.: the production of 

 Raisins as an article of commerce, one who has 

 any knowledge of its first principles and our 

 climatic conditions, will never give it a moment's 

 thought. If our climatic conditions did not 

 make it impossible, the question of money 

 values would make it impracticable. In the 

 best Raisin districts of the world, the Grapes 

 when ready to dry are worth from one to one 

 and a half cents per pound, and wine produc- 

 tion promises only about half these values. 



Prof. Dubois, in the dispatch of Nov. 12, 1888, 

 gives the value of wine Grapes in California at 

 $12 per ton and in Florida $80. 



The California Grapes are the choicest Euro- 

 pean varieties, and the Florida Grapes are 

 American varieties whose most ardent admirers 

 claim no more for them than that they are 

 " just as good " as the European Grapes. This 

 high value is based on a local and limited supply. 

 Local markets and a limited supply are one 

 thing, but competition in the open markets of 

 the world, quite another thing. 



No Wine Making. Mr. A. I. Bidwell, strikes 

 the key note of the money music when he says: 

 " The bunch Grapes are too valuable in them- 

 selves to make them into wine." Their food 

 value Is far above their drink value, and as 

 an article of food will bring more money 

 by far than the manufacturer of wine pays for 

 Grapes in any of the wine districts of the world. 

 Another obstacle in way of the production of 

 wine Grapes in Florida, is our facilities for the 

 production of high-priced commodities. 



Does any man in his senses believe that the 

 trucker can be wheedled into the abandoning of 

 Cabbages at $60 per ton, for the production of 

 Grapes at $15 per ton ? 



The growing of wine Grapes is not profitable 

 in California. "Grape growing in this state, 

 says the California Agriculturist, can be made a 

 very profitable business notwithstanding the 

 fact that the wine growers have not made money, 

 and many of them are obliged to give up every- 

 thing to foreclosures of mortgages on their prop- 

 erty after years' of hard work." 



Table Grapes. But there is one line of develop- 

 ment for this industry that is full of promise as 

 well as profit, which is the production of table 

 Grapes. No sensible man expects that present 

 prices of twenty five to forty cents per pound 

 will be maintained under greatly increased pro- 

 duction, but there is a wide margin between 

 these prices and a living profit. At forty cents 

 per pound only the few eat Grapes, at ten cents 

 the many and at five cents everybody and the 

 children. 



But can Grapes be profitably grown at five 

 cents per pound ? In Southern California pro- 

 ducing Raisin Grapes is one of the best indus- 

 tries. To make a pound of Raisins requires 

 three pounds of Grapes. When dried ready for 

 packing, the packers pay five to five and one- 

 half cents per pound, being less than two cents 

 a pound for the fresh (irapes. 



In some of her products, Florida has to com- 

 pete with other regions, but in Grapes she has no 

 rival. In the market for early Grapes she stands 

 entirely alone. 



In July 18S7, I was in New York. By the 20th 

 of the month the few Florida Grapes had disap- 

 peared. For Georgia Grapes, it was too early, 

 and the first Californias were a few black Ham- 

 burgs of which 1 purchased some on the 22nd. 



Quality rather than color will be the ultimate 

 test. If white Grapes in the past have been 

 generally poor, there is plenty of time for a 

 really good white Grape to make a reputation. 



Pelargoniums (Geraniums) and Their" 

 Culture. 



iEj^tract of paper by John H. Sievers, read before the 

 Califomia State Floral Society.) 



The natural order of Geraniaceie or Cranes- 

 bill consists of herbs and shrubs distributed 

 over the various parts of the world. The 

 species of Pelargonium [including all the 

 tender sections of Geraniums] abound at the 

 Cape of Good Hope, those of the northern 

 wild types of Geranium and Erodium are 

 chiefly natives of Europe, North America 

 and Northern Asia. They have astringent 

 and aromatic qualities, many of them are 

 fragrant and some have a musky odor. 

 They are sometimes tuberous, and the tubers 

 are eaten. Among the plants of this order 

 about .540 hybrids are recorded, of which 

 Erodium, Geranium and Pelargonium are 

 examples. 



Erodium or Stork's Bill is known by having five 

 of the stamens without anthei-s and the tails of 

 carpels bearded on the inside; they coil up spirally 

 when they split away from the central column. 

 Geranium, the Cranesbills, whose name is de- 

 rived from the long central beak of the fruit, 

 form a large genus of the Geraniace*, distin- 

 guished by having regular flowers, ten stamens 

 with the filaments united at the base, and five 

 carpels each tipped by a long glabrous awn, 

 which becomes recurved when it separates from 

 the central axis.not spirally twisted as inErodium. 

 Pelargonium. This very extensive genus of 

 Geraniacea^, known in gardens as Geraniums, is 

 almost confined to the Cape of Good Hope, 

 though a few occur in Australia, one in the 

 Canary Islands, and another fine species (P. En- 

 dicheranium) in Asia Minor. They are very dif- 

 ferent from the genus of that name, in their 

 spurred calyx, usually irregular corolla, and the 

 number of perfect stamens, which vary from 

 seven down to four. The greater numl)er of 

 forms cultivated in gardens are hybrids, which 

 are produced with great facility in this genus. 

 Some have fragrant foliage from which an 

 essential oil may be extracted, as P. nmum and 

 capitatum. 



The peduncles or flower-stems grow opposite 

 the leaves or axillary; and the flowers are usually 

 in simple uml)els with an involucre (a ring or 

 bracts surrounding several flowers) at the base 

 the calyx is five-parted, the upper segment hav- 

 ing a spur which is adnate or grown unto 

 by the whole surface of the pedicle, corolla 

 of five petals (sometimes four or two) more or 

 less iiTegular, stamens ten, four to seven only 

 with anthers, beakes of fruit (styles) hairy inside 

 and spirally twisted when mature. 



Classification. Pelargoniums are botanically 

 again divided into 15 distinct sub-genera. Mostly 

 all now cultivated ones come under the following 

 classes and names: Bronze, Gold, Tricolor and 

 Variegated-leaved Geraniums; Ivy-leaved Ger- 

 aniums, single or double flowered: Fancy or 

 Show, Spotted and Regal Pelargoniums; Sweet 

 Scented-leaved Geraniums; and Zonale Gerani- 

 ums, single and double-flowered. The flowers 

 of the Regal Pelargoniums are of a large size, 

 with very rich and showy colors, and although 

 they are not really double, yet have the appear- 

 ance of being so from their full and crispy form, 

 and the extra numl)er of their frilled petals. 



Hybridization. The immense number of im- 

 proved varieties of all sorts of Pelargoniums 

 have been produced by hybridization or by sports. 

 Hybridization is caused by the natural interven- 

 tion of winds, in.sects, etc., or by human labor. 



A sport is a shoot which varies cither by leaf 

 or flower from the parent. If the ditferencc is 

 sufliciently interesting, cut away by degrees all 

 branches of the plant except the sport, of which, 

 when strong enough make cuttings; if these re- 

 tain their peculiarities, the new variety may l)e 

 considered as established. 



To hybridize artificially, destroy all the flower 

 buds on the same flower stem except the strong- 

 est one, remove the anthers of the flower to be 

 hybridized before they mature, then with a flue 

 brush gather the ripe pollen tiom the anthers of 

 another variety, and with it dust the stigma of 

 the first. Protect the fertilized Hower from damp 

 over head. A tissue paper covering drawn 

 together underneath the pedicle of the flower, 

 and fastened with a thread, will protect it against 

 insects and dew. 



The success of the operation will soon show 

 itself by the quicker withering of the flower 

 and the increase iu size of the ovarium. 



