i^Sgo. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



chased, and this I mail to you (engraving 

 annexed). The bo.x itself was lined with 

 white paper, the parts that lapped over 

 the top of the fruit being ornamentally per- 

 forated, like the papers often used in boxes 

 of confectionery. 



As the description on the label indicates 

 the fruit was of the choicest quality, and 

 being done up so handsomely, it was a sight 

 to tempt many buyers. Dozens of the boxes 

 were sold at 7.5 cents apiece, and as they 

 held, I think, five pounds of fruit each, it is 

 clear that it made handsome returns to the 

 grower and the enterprising company that 

 hit upon this excellent plan of 

 disposing of fruit. The dis- 

 play of fruit was as pretty and 

 tempting a sight as weary 

 travellers could desire to meet, 

 and it touched the pocket book 

 quickly. I have no doubt that 

 to train load after train load 

 of people, the sale of these 

 boxes day by day, atjthe Syra- 

 cuse station was very large. 



Why is not this method 

 of putting up choice fruit to 

 attract buyers most com- 

 mendable? It appeals to the 

 sense of sight as well as to 

 the palate and this is proper. 

 The public pay the florists hundreds of 

 thousands of dollars in the larger cities every 

 year for cut (lowers for beauty chiefly. Fine 

 fruit combines both beauty and usefulness 

 as food. The salesman who so presents his 

 product that both of these qualities have 

 due weight in influencing buyers, will be 

 greatly the gainer thereby. 



COMMENTS BY READERS. 



A department to whu'h alt are invited to send notes 

 of experience and observation concerning topics that 

 recently have been treated on in this JournaL Many 

 such contributions monthly are welcome. 



The Florists' Contention at Boston. The 

 dullness of the meetings was not owing to unin- 

 teresting papers and questions. Please bear 

 with us. Manj'Otusare plain, practical people 

 more accustomed to hard labor than to debating 

 or discussing matters in open meeting. Some of 

 you ready speakers perhaps cannot understand 

 this diHidence, this nervousness on our part, 

 but it is a sad and unsurmountable ailment with 

 many of us. Again, many of the members 

 present could not hear what was said, and in 

 such cases both the eloquent and the silent were 

 rendered hnrs de combat. But you put us dumb 

 members into a small room where only a tew of 

 us are together, and you shall quickly see how 

 soon we will find our tongues. Indeed, I have 

 Iwen thinking that it might be well to consider 

 the advisability of dividing the meetings into 

 sections according to the branches io which the 

 different florists are most interested, somewhat 



would have it appear at its prettiest, plant it at 

 the root of some naked topped tree such sis an 

 old Cedar, a *all Hickory, a big Paulonin, or the 

 like, and let it grow up around and covei- the 

 stem of the tree. But don't plant it at the root 

 ot a Beech or Elm as they would rob it to starv- 

 ation. It will climb 80 or 10 feet high, and attach 

 itself by stem roots to the tree trunk. Or it will 

 clamber over rocks or tree stumpsin the garden. 

 But it isn't a good vine to use in place of a 

 Honeysuckle or Clematis.— H'lii. Falconer. 



BiBDS AND GRAPE.S. The thief is the oriole, 

 which hangs it* nest on the end of a limb of 

 some high tree. I ha^ e a very large Klra in my 

 yard where they come every year to hatch their 

 young, and also to destroy the Pears as well as 



weather destroys blossoms. These off-years, as 

 some call it, don't happen in my orchard. Have 

 had pretty regular crops for ten years, the only 

 miss being when a tree was overloaded, and I 

 failed to thin out. Invariably the following 

 year was a miss, which is quite natural : for a 

 tree cannot l)ear an overload and at the same 

 time store up blossom buds to do the same the 

 next season. —S. Miller, Monluomcrit l\> , Mo. 



Potted Strawuekbt Plants. The unusual 

 drought throughout the country has preventcil 

 the making of young plants, except in a few 

 favored locations. The consequence is that no 

 one will like U\ go into the beds tf) dig plants 

 until later than usual. Later than the first of 

 October is not often practicable although if the 



HOW THE BOXES OF CHOICE GRAPES ARE LABELLED. 



Wooden Box iiscd in Marhetlng Grni>e». 



after the style in which the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science divides its 

 meetings.— Wm . Falconer. 



MiMULUSES, p. iW. I grow lots ot them in 

 summer but do not consider them worth while 

 in winter. Although the seeds are exceedingly 

 minute they have great vitality and germinate 

 without any trouble. The young plants grow 

 rapidly, bloom in .Tune and July, and in moist 

 shady places will live over and bloom again in 

 fall, but as the second crop is apt to be poor I 

 save seed for next year and root out the plants 

 as soon as their beauty is passed. But Mimulus 

 cardinalis keeps fresh and in bloora all summer. 

 Common Musk is also a Mimulus and easily 

 raised from seed. — Wm. F. 



The Climbing Hydrangea, p. -'KS. Let me 

 urge your readers to try this vine. And if they 



the Grapes by puncturing for their juices. I 

 have seen those birds stick their bills in Bartlett 

 Pears, and puncturing the fine clusters of 

 Brighton Grapes, which are my first to ripen. 

 I shot everyone I could see on my place and 

 after that my Grapes hung without being mo- 

 lested either by birds or bees, and there were 

 plenty ot both kinds —W;n. G. Sickles. 



Thinning Out Fruit. Occasionally someone 

 refers to this subject as something new, while it 

 is as old as horticulture itself. I have practised 

 it for more than forty years, and never yet 

 failed to gain by it. Most people maintained 

 that it might do on a small scale, but that it 

 would never pay in extensive orchards. I have 

 the proof that it will. Yesterday afternoon five 

 trees were gone over in my orchard, two Mt. 

 Henry Pippin and three Newtown, from two 

 o'clock until six. This would beat the rate of 

 twelve trees in ten hours, the hours of a day's 

 work, costing say SL which will be a little over 

 eight cents per tree. Now these trees will aver- 

 age about six bushels a piece if the season is 

 favorable, and there will be but very few culls. 

 The difference in the price ot one bushel of 

 these Apples will more than pay for the thinning. 

 It is true not everyone will handle himself on a 

 ladder or tree as 1 do, but then we will allow one 

 hour more to the day, as on the farm the 10 hour 

 system is not so rigidly adhered to as with me- 

 chanics. Supposing I had a thousand tiees like 

 these and had.to pay $S5 to have them gone over, 

 the crop being ti,UOO bushels. If I could get but 

 ten cents more per bushel, which is quite a low 

 estimate, it would makel$600,which is pretty good 

 pay, I should think. What I left on will measure 

 as many bushels when harvested, as if all had 

 been left on the trees, although I took at least 

 three bushels off each tree, of course in all cases 

 the small, deformed, rustv and wormy ones. 

 When it comes to picking them the difference in 

 the work and sorting will nearly make up for 

 the thinning. But this is not all, for by this 

 thinning out the trees are relieved of quite a 

 burden ; they will not have to mature the seeds 

 of all those taken off", which is a great item. 

 Every scrubby small Apple has about on equal 

 number of seeds with the largest, and seed- 

 ripening is the great tax on the vitality of the 

 tree. Another feature about it is that in a 

 drought like this it may prevent the premature 

 dropping of the fruit, so much complained of 

 in this region. At my work alluded to I found 

 that the fruit let go its hold much too easily to 

 promise staying there until the proper time, 

 and believe that my thinning will save what are 

 now left. A few years ago there were scarcely 

 any coddling moths here, no black rot, nor sc^b 

 on the Apples, but they are all coming, and 

 spraying will have to be resorted to in coming 

 years. If I had an orchard of ten thousand bear- 

 ing Apple trees that were overloaded, they 

 shoulil all be thinned out. Another advantage 

 ot thinning 1 did not mention, is that it will give 

 us Api>les every year, unless an unusual spell of 



autumn is a late warm one it may do still later. 

 This thing of potted plants is all right if done 

 properly, but the taking-up of runners, sticking 

 them in small pots, leave for a week or two 

 and then send out, is not quite the fair thing. 

 The pots should be sunk under the runner and 

 left at least three weeks, then they will be prop- 

 erly established. The usual way is to take the 

 plants out of the pots and wrap them in paper 

 so as to save express charges. If I were to order 

 such plants, my order would be shake the ground 

 out of the roots, without breaking them and 

 pack in Moss; thus handled I will insure as good 

 growth as if the whole ball of earth were with 

 them, and even if got with the earth adhering, 

 would loosen the lower part and spread the 

 roots. These pot plants are usually grown in 

 very rich soil, and if planted in ground less so, 

 the roots will keep creeping in and around this 

 ball instead of running out into the new ground. 

 By sending the plants without the ground, 100 

 can be sent by mail, which may cost 20 cents, 

 but if sent by express may cost from .50 cents to 

 $3. These express companies are one of the 

 necessary evils that we cannot escape altogether. 

 They charge me nearly as much for carrying 

 a trifling thing from St. Louis here, 94 miles, as 

 for carrying it 600 from the east to St. Louis, 

 simply because there is no competition. Where- 

 in lies the remedy I cannot see.—.'*. Miller, Mo. 

 Training Tomatoes. I believe in training 

 Tomatoes and have the methofl illustrated on 

 page 284 in use at the present time. The little trou- 

 ble one will take training and pruning will be 

 more than repaid by clean handsome fruit. 

 First among my ten varieties stands Mikado, 

 being the first to ripen, a heavy cropper of very 

 large, solid fruit; but it ripens unevenly. Living- 

 ston's Perfection is very prolific, second to ripen; 

 a beautiful fruit, but subject to black rot. 

 Ignotum ripens with Perfection, has very large, 

 handsome fruit, but badly affected with black 

 rot. Henderson's Shaw or Yellow Mikado bears 

 very large handsome fruit. Dwarf Champion is a 

 small Tomato both in fruit and plant, of good 

 quality. The old standard Paragon is of excel- 

 lent quality and prolific. With it ripens Hender- 

 son's Table Queen, a new variety. This Tomato 

 is all the originatoi-s claim for it. It is large and 

 handsome, of fine flavor, a heavy cropi>er. The 

 Peach is of little value except to amuse the 

 children; very lu.xuriant in growth, and very 

 prolific ; the old Trophy is very late ; Station 

 Tree Tomato is a dwarf but useless variety ; it 

 ripens with the Champion, but has very small 

 fruit. My Tomatoes are all trellised, and are 

 ripening in large numbers daily while the same 

 plants of my neighbors left to grow on the 

 ground ripen very slowly and unsatisfactory. 

 My .advice to all who would grow good Tomatoes 

 is to trellis them. Some posts set alw)ut eight 

 feet apart, a few strands of wire, a little care in 

 training and pruning— this will be as bread cast 

 upon the waters, that you shall find after many 

 days.— Henri/ C. Towneend, Dutchass Co., N. Y. 



