1890. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



15 



Baising Beedlings. The ripe seeds should be 

 kept dry and cool, and sown in the following 

 March or April in a shallow pan, filled three- 

 fourths with broken charcoal and covered with 

 an inch of light sandy loam. Great care has to 

 be taken with regard to moisture, as young 

 seedlings are very liable to damping off; when 

 big enough transplant into small pots using 

 similar soil as before. 



Propagation From CnttingB. This may be at- 

 tempted at any time of the year when good ripe 

 wood can be had; but as many frequently lose 

 their outside Pelaigoniums through cold during 

 winter, chiefly when the ground has been soaked, 

 I make the cuttings in the fall as follows. 

 Take cuttings of good ripened shoots, put 

 them in clean sand with charcoal under- 

 neath, and keep them in a somewhat dry but 

 warm atmosphere, give water sparingly and 

 pot when well rooted in light loamy soil. 

 Use small pots at the start and shift into 

 larger ones. 



Caltore. Pelargoniums require a sunny 

 place under glass and even more so in the 

 house. The above followed will give vigor- 

 ous plants for spring planting. Do not set 

 out old plants, for the lower part of their 

 stalks are always leafless and unsightly. 



To save choice varieties from hurt by 

 frost, etc , cut them back six inches f romlthe 

 ground, then take them up, avoiding to cut 

 their roots; remove the greater part of the 

 soil between the roots with a pointed stick 

 and pot in a small space. This treatment 

 will reduce their chance of luxuriant growth 

 during the winter months. Give them a 

 light sunny place in the house, water sparing- 

 ly; replant in spring. 



All Pelargoniums in a healthy state require 

 rich soil. This Is prepared by mixing thoroughly 

 one part of well-rotted manure with two and 

 one-half parts good loam and one-half part clear 

 sand. All the care henceforth required is to cut 

 back large branches after flowering; loosen the 

 surface soil; dress the soil in spring when plants 

 have become stationary ; clean out yellow leaves; 

 stake the plants when required, and free the 

 same from greenfly with Tobacco water in the 

 gardens and Tobacco smoke in the conservatory. 



ten feet and arranged that but little water will 

 go down them. Packed thus Cabbages can be 

 kept until spring, or can be taken out at any 

 time. ^Exchange. 



Japan Wild Olive. Elipagnus longipes is a 

 native of Japan, belonging to the Olive family 

 of plants, and a near relative to our native 

 Buffalo berry; perfectly hardy. It grows to a 

 he-.ght of five feet or more, is bushy and broad, 

 and thrifty plants begin to fruit when two to 

 three years old. Leaves oval-oblong, green 

 above, silvery beneath, and last in good condi- 

 tion all summer long and are free from insects. 

 Flowers small, silvery-yellow, numerous and in 



CONDENSED GLEANINGS. 



Keeping Cabbages for Spring Use. Select a 

 position in the lee of a tight fencs or a building, 

 and dig down about two feet. From the bottom 

 of this pit lay a drain, unless the soil is gravelly 

 enough to drain itself. Then lay down some 

 boards or rails as a Boor, and on that straw or 

 poor hay. Trim off nearly all the loose outer 

 leaves of the Cabbages. Pack the heads care- 

 fully upon the straw, stem end uppermost. 

 The roots may be left on or cut off. They cannot 

 be packed too closely, but it is not well to put 

 them more than three or four tiers deep. Cover 



CORMS OF MONTBRETIA POTSII. 



with straw, and upon that put an inch or two of 

 earth. The pile should be highest in the center, 

 and some of the straw should be allowed to 

 come above the soil at the highest point, that it 

 may act as a ventilator to allow the escape of 

 warm air in the pit. As the weather grows 

 colder, cover with more earth until it is from 

 one to two feet deep. The object of the cover- 

 ing is to make the freezing and thawing process 

 as gradual as it can be made. If the heap is 

 large there should be a straw ventilator every 



JAPAN WILD OLIVE. 



full bloom early in May. Fruit oval, flve-eighths 

 inch or more long, very fleshy and juicy, bright- 

 red, drooping on slender pedicles on the under- 

 side of the twigs, and borne in immense profu- 

 sion. It ripens in July. Used like Cranberries, 

 it makes a delicious sauce, especially for children. 

 I have planted it as a standard fruit crop, like 

 Currants. It is catalogued as E. longipes, also 

 as E. crispa and E. edulis. Somewhat scarce as 

 yet, but I expect it to have a boom next yeai-. 

 Easily raised from seed, if sown in the fall. 

 Next spring almost every seed will germinate.— 

 Wm. Falconer in Rural New Yorker. 



Apple Crop in England. A summary of the 

 most authentic reports concerning the 1890 crop 

 of Apples in Great Britain, is given by J. Hough- 

 ton & Co., under date of Liverpool, England, 

 August 30. Up to date reports from 13.5 different 

 districts have been received which may be classi- 

 fied as follows: Very thin, poor, or almost 

 failure, sixty-two ; half crop, or under the aver- 

 age, thirty-four: fair, good or average, thirty- 

 nine. It is thus abundantly evident that the 

 English home supplies will be altogether inade- 

 quate to meet the demand, and therefore the 

 prospects tor shipments from the United States 

 and Canada are correspondingly good, and will 

 command high prices. Messrs. Houghton & Co. 

 add : " We, however, again call attention to the 

 advisability of packing the Apples tightly, and 

 not shipping small or common fruit, as if any 

 quantity of this class arrives the result will in all 

 probability be unsatisfactory. The fact that 

 the Continental crops of Apples are also poor 

 is a further element of strength in the general 

 position." 



The Hop in the Garden. We lose much beauty 

 in gardens by ignoring things like Hops. I 

 remember a gnarled Apple-tree, over which the 

 Hop had spread its vigorous shoots, and it 

 would not have been easy to discover a prettier 

 bit of free and picturesque growth. It makes a 

 happy contrast to Clematis, the mass of deep- 

 green leaves iutensifying the color of the deep- 

 blue flowers. Its charm is not confined merely 

 to summer, but as autumn approaches, the plant 

 then carries its rich clusters of golden-yellow 

 Hops, and thereby receives additional beauty of 

 no mean kind. The Japanese Hop has been 

 much used for covering arbors and trellises. 

 The growth is surprisingly rapid. Give it a trial, 

 though it has no commercial value. The bunches 

 of flowers are larger, and therefore the plant 

 has an advantage for the garden.— G'ing Illus'd. 

 Montbretia Pottsii This most attractive Cape 

 bulb has a knack of disappointing people by 

 increasing like Couch-grass, and never pro- 

 ducing a solitary flower. It soon starves itself 

 in a clump, and requires annual, or at leo.st 

 biennial, transplantation. In November we dug 

 a large proportion of our stock and dried them 

 off in a cool dry shed, as is done with Gladioli. 

 The illustration of root shows how one corm 



succeeds each other every year, and by cluster- 

 ing closely in this way, soon weaken themselves. 

 The close allies of the Montbretias, viz., the 

 Crocosmias, flower much more freely ; but even 

 these wear out, unless pretty often replanted. 

 C. aurea is a lovely thing at its best, but the new 

 C. imperialis is said to surpass it in size of flower 

 even if not in coloring.— Cor. Garden World. 



Prevention of Hildew on Forced Lettuce. 

 Water in the morning. Ijettuce mildew, like 

 most plants of its kind, can only grow in a close 

 moist atmosphere and a high temperature, and 

 in morning watering, especially on sunny days, 

 the moisture gets dried from the leaves before 

 night, and the mildew is less liable to grow. 

 Burning sulphur is quickly destructive to 

 all plant growth, and every precaution 

 should be taken that it is not heated so hot 

 as to take Are. The lamp or stove should 

 have a broad base or the kettle be placed 

 on a tripod with feet well spread. It should 

 be placed under the bench where it can be 

 readily seen, but where the clothes of a 

 person passing by may not catch upon it 

 and upset it.-Prof. Maynard, Mass. Ex. Sta. 

 Advantages of Drainage. We drain to let 

 water into the soil, as much as to take it 

 out— i. e., to make the fertilizing rain fllter 

 through the soil. Draining makes the soil 

 more porous, drier, looser, and more friable; 

 it raises the temperature of the soil ; a 

 greater variety of crops can be grown ; it 

 gives an earlier seed time and harvest; and it 

 makes manure more effectual. On a porous 

 soil the action of the drains will extend to a 

 considerable distance if the depth is made 

 proportionate, while on clay soil percola- 

 tion Is greatly hindered, and the beneficial effect 

 extends to a less distance from the drain. It is 

 the weight of water in the soil which exercises 

 the effect; a drain has no "'drawing" power. - 

 Prof. Scott, in Agricultural Gazette. (Scotland). 

 Pomace for Peach Trees. Apple pomace is 

 valuable for feed, but still more so for a Peach 

 tree fertilizer. Every fall after the crops are 

 gathered, give trees a good plowing and then 

 put around each several forkfuls of well-rotted 

 pomace. It is the secret of raising good, healthy 

 trees. If the trees are thrifty they are sure to 

 make an abundance of fruit. Throw pomace 

 for several feet around a tree that is nearly dead, 

 you will see shortly that your ti-ee has taken a 

 new lease of life. New shoots and new wood 

 are fast replacing the old and the next season it 

 will bear and for many years after. Thousands 

 of bushels of this valuable fertilizer are going 

 to waste about nearly every cider mill, and 

 many consider it worthless, from the fact that 

 no one has ever tried to use it.— Farm and Home. 



The Gypsy Moth. This pest recently intro- 

 duced in Massachusetts, is reported as feeding 

 upon the leaves of Apple, Cherry, Quince, Elm, 

 Linden, Maple, Balm of Gilead, Birch, Oak, 

 Willow, Wistaria, Norway Spruce and Corn. 

 Many trees in the infested district in the State 

 have been defoliated ; and when the insects in 

 large numbers attack tree or shrub, they gener- 

 ally strip them of their leaves. Entomologists 

 in Europe state that if the insect should get a 

 foothold in this country it would become a far 

 greater pest than the Colorado Potato beetle^ 

 because it is prolific and feeds on so many differ- 

 ent plants, while the Potato beetle confines itself 

 to a smaU number.— D. D. T. M. in Independent. 



For Black Knot on Trees. Prof. S. T. Maynard 

 is credited with the averment that a single coat 

 of spirits of turpentine or kerosene applied to 

 the black knot in Plum and Cherry trees would 

 destroy it; also that linseed oil applied with a 

 brush in a similar manner two or three times 

 would destroy it. In either case care must be 

 taken not to apply it to any but the efl'ected 

 parts of the tree. It is not necessary to remove 

 the knot when this application is made. Of 

 course the remedy should be used as soon as the 

 knot or wart makes its appearance. The remedy 

 is so simple that it deserves a trial by fruit 

 growers. 



What Colors will Photograph. With the ex- 

 perience, and the improvements in chemicals, 

 we can photograph white as well as black. The 

 capable artist prides himself on his ability to 

 show the most delicate and elaborate lace work. 

 Blue and pink will photograph white. Purple 

 will appear many shades lighter than it leally is 

 in reality. Ked and deep yellow appear black, 

 or nearly so. Strong contrasts will give a gaudy 

 effect. Subdued and quiet colors make the neat 

 picture.— Ladies' Home Journal. 



