20 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



October, 



1,959. Dtpth of Planting Potatoes. Very 

 many trials have recently been made witlr the 

 view of discovering which depth of planting 

 usually gives the best results. In our own tests 

 seeds was put 2, 4, 8, 8 and 10 inches below the 

 surface. We found that the deeper we planted, 

 the further down we had to dig after the crop, 

 and that the comparative yields depended some- 

 what on the season, whether wet or dry. (In the 

 whole, we consider four inches just about right. 

 This admits of the use of the smoothing harrow 

 after planting, and of level culture. In moist 

 heavy soils we might prefer to plant only three, 

 or even two inches deep, and practice the hilling 

 method. 



3.001. Preventing Tomato Bot. Of course it 

 is too late for this season to do anything. The 

 rot is caused by a fungus, the growth ot which 

 is favored by warm moist weather. The only 

 thing that promises Uy give relief from these 

 fungus attacks is spraying with the Bordeaux 

 mixture or other copper solutions. 



2,046. Powdery Mildew of Eose. 

 This fungus is closely related to 

 the Gooseberry mildew, and has 

 the same habit of growth. The 

 surfaces of the affected parts, says 

 Prof. Scribner, are covered with 

 a more or less dense web-like 

 or felt-like growth, consisting of 

 a vast number of very fine and 

 delicate slender tubes closely wo- 

 ven together. On older leaves this 

 growth usually appears as white 

 blotches; on young leaves both 

 surfaces are often completely 

 covered. The diameter of leaf 

 stalk and shoot is abnormally in- 

 creased. The leaves never fully 

 expand, and often become spotted 

 with purple. Such leaves are un- 

 able to perform their normal 

 functions, and their duration is 

 brief. The fungus is reproduced 

 both by summer and winter spores. The mil- 

 dew is most troublesome when appearing in the 

 greenhouse. Prof. S. T. Maynard thinks that 

 the disease may be brought on (1) by exposure 

 of the plants to draughts of extreme cold air 

 when growing rapidly; (2) by high temperature 

 when kept up both day and night; (3) by water- 

 ing or syringing just before night; (4) by too 

 little water; (5) by extreme dryness; («) by poor 

 drainage; (7) by a deficiency of plant food. Sul- 

 phur in a temperature of 70 to 90 degrees V. gives 

 off fumes which are destructive to vegetable 

 life, and will kill the fungus, but we must take 

 care, else by a too liberal use of the sulphur in a 

 warm atmosphere, especially during the hot days 

 of summer, the bushes may be defoliated and 

 killed. In greenhouses, or other inclosed spaces, 

 the fumes of sulphur may be forced off by heat- 

 ing brimstone in any convenient receptacle, al- 

 lowing the vapor to fill the room until there is a 

 preceptible odor of sulphur throughout. Due 

 care must be taken that the brimstone does not 

 take fire. The liver of sulphur (sulphuret of po- 

 tassium) in solution, H to !^ ounce to the gallon 

 of water, is an excellent remedy for this Rose 

 mildew, being readily applied with any ordinary 

 sprayer. 



2,033. Making Vinegar and Keeping Cider 

 Sweet. Vinegar making is easy enough if you 

 have good cider and patience. Keep the barrel 

 in a warm place filled up to the bung, and re- 

 filling as needed. When done working, draw off 

 into an old vinegar barrel, filling it not over two- 

 thirds full. Keep the bung hole covered with a 

 piece of screen to exclude vinegar flies. If kept 

 in a warm place, it may make good strong vine- 

 gar in less than six months' time. In an ordinary 

 cellar it will take longer. We know of no drug 

 that could be used with safety, which will keep 

 cider perfectly sweet. Salicilic acid one or two 

 ounces to the barrel, is sometimes used and rec- 

 ommended, but we would not care to use "sweet 

 cider " thus doctored as a beverage. A pound 

 of mustard seed put in a barrel of cider, will 

 keep it in tolerably fair condition as long as kept 

 bunged up tight, and not disturljed otherwise. 

 The only practical way of keeping cider per- 

 fectly sweet is by putting it in bottles, heating 

 them and their contents to near the.boiling point 

 and then sealing up air-tight. 



2,045. Bemedy for Verbena Bnst. Rust is in- 

 vited by an enfeebled condition of the plants 

 and that the way to prevent therefore is to pro- 

 mote vigorous growth. In our experience with 

 this plant on a large scale, we have never been 

 sei'iously troubled with this ailment. The course 

 of culture pursued has been as follows. The 

 stock has been propagated in the latter part of 

 Sept. from virgin succulent growth obtained 

 from out-door plants. After rooting, the plants 

 have been grown in a low house, in a tempera- 

 ture ranging from 45 to 55 degrees at night, 

 keeping them abundantly aired and well watered 

 at all times. If signs of rust appeared such 

 plants were thrown out ; if mildew, Hower of 

 sulphur was applied after a watering, keeping 



the house close for several hours. Although air 

 was provided very freely almost every day in 

 the winter, yet pains were taken not to have a 

 stray draught of cold sweep over the young 

 plants. By this course we have always secured 

 an abundance of cuttings for propagation from 

 fall-struck plants by the February following 

 and the plants from these were in the healthlst 

 condition possible. 



2,044. Smoke vs. Frost, This matter is hardly 

 out of the experimental stage, and the outlook 

 for a general adoption of the practice of fighting 

 frost by smoke is not very promising. In a clear, 

 still night. Just when frost can be expected to do 

 harm, the smoke refuses to spread over the land 

 as a blanket, but prefers to go perpendicularly 

 upwards and be lost without leaving much 

 benefit. Unreliability of the remedy will pre- 

 vent people from exerting themselves very 

 much in order to fight a threatened but uncer- 

 tain danger. In many cases, however, the bad 



CELERIAC, COMMON AND APPLE-SH»PED. 



effects of a frost ma.v be prevented, wholly or 

 partially, by means of burning heaps of green 

 brush, rotten wood, and rubbish of all sorts, or 

 still better of a mixture of moist sawdust and 

 tar. The contrivance for erecting a steady 

 dense smoke, as described and illustrated in last 

 volume of Popular Gardening, consists of a 

 simple wire frame holding a perforated pan with 

 coal tar that is dripping down slowly into a 

 charcoal fire below. A number of these smoke 

 producers are stationed at regular intervals on 

 the windward side of the area to be protected. 



The Turnip-Rooted Celery. 



Celeriac, as the Turnip-rooted Celery Is 

 usually called, is quite popular among old 

 country people, especially Germans, but not 

 generally grown and appreciated in Ameri- 

 can home gardens. This may be due to its 

 somewhat peculiar flavor to which one has 

 to become accustomed before one can gel 

 very fond of it. We consider the bulb when 

 boiled most excellent for mixing with salads, 

 or for flavoring soups; and the tops may 

 also be used as soup Celery. 



Its cultivation is simple enough. Plants 

 are started in exactly the same way as com- 

 mon Celery, either in cold frames or in open 

 ground, and planted out as a second crop, 

 in rows about 18 inches apart, with 10 or 12 

 inches space between the plants. The 

 ground should be rich, moist and mellow, 

 and well-prepared. If the preceding early 

 crop was heavily manured, little if anyaddi- 

 tional fertilizer will be required. 



After-cultivation is much the same as 

 practiced by good gardeners for other varie- 

 ties of Celery, and consists chiefly of frequent 

 and thorough hoeing to keep the ground 

 loose and active. Earthing up is not re- 

 quired. The crop can be gathered in late 

 fall, topped like Beets or Carrots and other- 

 wise treated and stored like these root crops. 



The common variety, shown at the left of 

 illustration, has been the only one in culti- 

 vation in America; although French and 

 German seedsmen catalogue quite a number 

 of varieties. Among them we have Large 

 Early Erfurt, Large Smooth Paris, New Ap- 

 ple-Shaped and I^arge Smooth Prague. The 

 New Apple-Shaped is shown at the right of 

 illustration. It was introduced by Messrs. 

 Vilmorin & Co., of Paris, several years ago. 

 We have never been able to grow as fine 



bulbs as those pictured. This year we are 

 trying the Large Smooth Prague. Altogether 

 we would not consider the garden complete 

 without one or the other of these varieties of 

 Turnip- rooted Celery. 



Greenhouse Construction and 

 Heating. 



Experimental forcinghouses have recently 

 been put up at the Michigan Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. The description given 

 by Prof. L. R. Taft, in Bulletin No. 63, is 

 of especial interest, as the experimental 

 feature, so far as possible, had been kept in 

 view even as to construction and heating. 



The style of houses selected, says Prof. 

 Taft, was the common even span, the two 

 houses being placed side by side, with a 

 wall in common. They ex- 

 tend north and south, with a 

 building at the north end, 30 

 x 25 feet, to be used for pot- 

 ting and similar work, and in 

 the basement of which the 

 heaters are situated. 



The greatest defects in the 

 ordinary forcing house, are, 

 that there is too much wood 

 in the roof in the shape of 

 rafter and sash bars, and that 

 suflicient care is not taken to 

 so erect them that they will 

 not rot, or the walls, if brick, 

 be broken apart by frost. 



The side and end walls are 



of cement below ground, and 



of wood above the surface. 



Thisarrangement should give 



a warm and lasting wall. 



The location selected is level, and an ex- 

 cavation 50x40 feet by one foot in depth was 

 made for the house. 



Upon a footing course six inches thick, a 

 wall of cement (grout) two feet high and 

 one foot thick was laid, as shown in the sec- 

 tion of wall. The excavated soU was used 

 for grading against this on the outside and 

 the grade was brought to the top of the 

 cement. If properly built they will do ser- 

 vice for a long time. 



On this wall a 2x5 inch plank is fastened 

 by means of anchor bolts set in theconcrete, 

 and on this a hollow wooden wall two feet 

 high and nine inches thick, consisting of 

 two by six inch studs, with building paper 

 and matched ceiling inside, and sheathing, 

 building paper and siding outside. The side 

 gutters were formed of two by ten inch 

 planks with narrow strips naQed on to form 

 the sides. This costs less than a gutter 

 made from one piece, and is fully as satis- 

 factory. The gutter between thejhouses re- 

 quires a twelve inch plank, the gutter itself 

 being six inches in width. Anything nar- 

 rower would not be advisable. In order to 

 carry off the water the houses were given a 

 fall of two inches toward the south. 



The roof was made of permanent sash 

 bars one foot apart, made of White Pine 

 and White-wood, eleven feet and three 

 inches long and 1^^x23^ in cross section. 

 The southern Cypress is considered very de- 

 sirable for this purpose, but White Pine, 

 with all joints laid in white lead, and kept 

 painted inside and out, will prove lasting. 

 It not properly painted it will soon rot out. 

 A ridge piece can be made from a 1)^x6 

 inch board, and for supporting this a row of 

 posts made of P4 Inch gas pipe was used. 

 These also serve as supports for the main 

 heating pipes. 



When the sash bars are more than eight 

 feet in length they should be strengthened 

 by some form of purlins and purlin posts. 

 We used one inch iron pipe, fastened to the 

 middle of the sash bars, and supported by 

 another pipe of the same size running to 

 the center posts. These are neat, strong, 

 inexpensive and have the added qualities of 



