POPULAR GARDENING. 



October, 



more valuable than English Morello ? " 

 Andre Leroy, Robert Hogg, and other west 

 European writers, give Brusseler Braune as 

 a synonym of Ratafia. That it is a variety 

 of the Ratafia family there can be no doubt. 

 Yet the Brusseler Braune we have distri- 

 buted and fruited is not identical with the 

 Ratafia of England, France, and South 

 Germany. The fruit has the shape, pecu- 

 liar suture, and the peculiar long stem of 

 the Ratafia, but it is larger in size, darker 

 in color when ripe, and the tree is larger, 

 less pendulous in habit, and much hardier 

 than the west European variety. 



We first saw this variety extensively 

 planted at a roadside in North Prussia, 

 I?oland, Western Hungary, and South 

 Russia, where it is used mainly for making 

 of Ratafia cordial and Kirschwasser. 



With us the tree has proven an iron clad 

 on ground where the Early Richmond and 

 English Morello have wholly failed during 

 our recent test seasons, and a regular bearer 

 even where we have severe frosts when it is 

 in blossom. The reason for this seems to 

 be found in the fact that only a portion of 

 the flowers expand at any one time. It is 

 in blossom for fully ten days and its fruit 

 does not ripen evenly. In east Europe two 

 pickings, about ten days apart, are made 

 where it is grown for making Kirschwasser 

 on a large scale. But where grown for 

 dessert and cooking, when the late Cherries 

 will do for canning, the early ones are black, 

 tender, iuicy, and really pleasant for 

 dessert use. 



It is later in season than English Morello, 

 and the birds seem to damage the crop less 

 than the earlier sorts, perhaps for two rea- 

 sons: 1. The stems are so long, and the fruit 

 so difficult to separate from the stem, that 

 the birds cannot pluck them readily. On 

 the pendent branches the fruit is mainly 

 undisturbed, yet the birds work on them 

 from perches by pecking off the flesh. 



Later the robins are less numerous than 

 they were two weeks ago, and those remain- 

 ing seem to prefer the Bush Honeysuckle 

 berries on a hedge row near by. 



I believe this variety will in time be large- 

 ly planted for late culinary and dessert use. 



I will only add that it does not unite well 

 with the mahaleb stock. 



Hints About Planting. 



E. P. POWELL, OXEIDA CO., N. Y. 



Those who are desirous of engaging in 

 fruit raising,make many very simple-hearted 

 mistakes, and get laughed at by older prac- 

 titioners. But if we look back over our own 

 experiences, we shall remember a long list 

 of blunders and losses Help and sugges- 

 tions of a plain sort, and very fundamental, 

 are what are needed. I wish to give a few 

 hints to planters of fruit gardens that will 

 save them a good deal of loss. 

 ' (1) If you get in a hurry to plant before 

 your land is put in perfect shape, and such 

 roots as those of Couch grass eliminated, 

 you will regret it before two years have 

 passed. The probabilities are, you will spend 

 more money than you get, and will give up 

 berries as having no profit in them. 



(2) If you get in such a hurry that you 

 cannot bear to cut the canes that you plant, 

 close down to the ground, you will geta few 

 berries the next season, but you will get no 

 fine canes for the next year. The result will 

 be two years of almost no crops; when by 

 close cutting you might have secured good 

 strong canes for the second year, and a full 

 crop. That is greed loses two years, and 

 good judgment loses one. Better leave but 

 one or two buds on the Raspberry and Black- 

 berry canes that you plant. 



(3) It you get in such a hurry that you 

 cannot mulch well after thoroughly tread- 

 ing down the canes after setting, you are 

 pretty sure to have them half heaved out by 



the winter. I should in all cases mulch 

 heavily with coarse manure or light saw- 

 dust, or, if nothing better, with cut straw. 

 Straw should never be used for covering or 

 tor mulching before snow time, if other 

 material can be had, as mice are liable to 

 nest in it and gnaw the plants. Blackberries 

 should be mulched even more carefully than 

 Raspberries. I would not set either Black 

 Raspberries or Strawberries in the fall; but 

 Red Raspberries and Blackberries if well 

 mulched. 



(4) If you get in too much of a hurry, to 

 drain your land well, you will make alosing 

 job of it with all sorts of small fruits. Nearly 

 all of them prefer clay soil well drained. It 

 is not only requisite to have the land 

 thoroughly tiled, but you must make pro- 

 vision for surface working and overflows. 

 I would have open but shallow cuts ready 

 in case of flooding to carry away easily the 

 surplus water. In late autumn I always 

 make surface ditches or cuts to catch winter's 

 surface waters and so save the plants. 

 This I do for all hillside gardens. A little 

 study will show where to run them so as to 

 most surely lead away overflows. I have 

 saved myself vast loss and costly repairs by 

 this simple process. If not needed longer 

 in spring they can be closed up. They need 

 generally be no bigger than furrows. 



(5) If you are too hurried to enrich your 

 gardens, as well not have any. My plan is 

 to have loads of loose manure driven about 

 my Strawberry beds and spread so as to 

 make over them a light covering in October 

 or November. This is allowed to settle down 

 in spring, with, if needed, a light raking. 

 It first covers and enriches, and then serves 

 to keep the berries off the ground. 



The Raspberry gardens should be heavily 

 mulched up and down the rows with coarse 

 manure in October. This should be culti- 

 vated under in spring. Blackberries should 

 be set in low land, and cultivated for two 

 years till they get possession of the soil, and 

 then let alone so far as plough or cultivator 

 goes. Cut out old canes, and cut offl new 

 ones; that is all. But for two years keep 

 out grass and weeds, after which they will 

 hold their own absolutely. I refer of course 

 to hardy varieties. A Currant garden must 

 be well cultivated, well hoed , well manured, 

 well supplied with ashes, and well trimmed. 



The matter of trimming is not so severe 

 as to puzzle any new beginner. Let Straw- 

 l)erries make new rows each year, and dig 

 out the old rows between. Cover the forked- 

 over spaces with fertilizer, and rake it in. 

 Let red and yellow Raspberries alone till 

 September, then cut out old canes, tie new 

 ones in small bunches to a wire run four 

 feet from the ground. Cut off tops at six 

 feet. With a cultivator keep the rows thin. 



Cuthbert can stand quite thickly in rows; 

 Turner and others very thinly. Black Rasp- 

 berries should be headed down to about four 

 feet, and kept well headed-in all summer. 

 I also tie them to wires in preference to 

 tying to stakes. 



An old Strawberry bed can be renewed 

 by forking alternate spaces in July, and 

 letting the new runners get well set. Then 

 fork out the old plants and leave the new 

 ones. Cover for winter as directed above. 



Raspberries standing six feet high, shade 

 the soil and do much to prevent damage 

 from drought. Rows in all cases can stand 

 as close as will permit a cultivator to move 

 easily up and down the Held. Currants and 

 Black Raspberries need room to spread out 

 .sideways. I use no cultivator after May. 



The varieties that make me the least 

 trouble are Sharpless, Cuthbert, Golden 

 Queen among Raspberries. Of Strawberries 

 the ideal growers are Bubach, Haverland 

 aod Cumberland. It is no whim that some 

 varieties make twice as much workas others. 

 Turner Raspberry must be kept from suck- 



ering, or it is a total failure. It also likes 

 cool soil. Pride of the Hudson is a failure 

 except in half-shaded places and well 

 mulched, but for the table both pay. 



I presume that many are planning to plant 

 fruit gardens at once. Do not plant heavily 

 at once. Go slowly and feel your way. 



Niagara County Orchard Notes. 



That Pear growing in this vicinity Is a 

 profitable business, is an open secret. 

 " Young man," says one of our veteran fruit 

 growers, •' if you want to get rich, plant 10, 

 30 or .50 acres to Bartlett Pears." While we 

 do not endorse this idea of anybody's go- 

 ing thus largely into any special branch of 

 husbandry without previous experience, for 

 fear he will have reason to say in the end 

 "I know there is money in it; put some in 

 myself, and as I have none taken out again, 

 it must be in it still." We see, however, 

 plenty of instances around us of Bartlett 

 Pear orchards yielding a handsome annual 

 revenue to their owners. 



The writer just came back from a stroll 

 through the Pear orchard of one of our 

 neighbors, Mr. .John Hopkins. They are 

 mostly Bartletts— standards of course — this 

 variety covering about two acres, with trees 

 about twenty-five years old, and planted 

 twelve feet apart each way. This is rather 

 close, undoubtedly too close for best results- 

 but the trees are well-grovra, and loaded 

 with large, perfect specimens of Pears, in 

 many instances to the point of breaking. 

 Some trees have more than two barrels of 

 fruit. Indeed it is a sight to behold, and so 

 far as we can learn, is not equalled in this 

 part of Western New York. 



There are many other Pear orchards in the 

 vicinity; but none shows comparatively the 

 same quantity of fruit, nor the perfection 

 in size of the individual specimens found in 

 Mr. Hopkins' orchard, even when the trees 

 are given much more space. What is the 

 secret of this? 



Mr. Hopkins says it is manure and culti- 

 vation; and from the whole appearance of 

 the orchard, and a comparison with others, 

 we are convinced he is right. 



Neither grass nor weed is to be seen in the 

 orchard. Clean cultivation has been prac- 

 ticed right straight through; and during the 

 seven weeks drought in July and August, 

 when other farm work was pressing, man 

 and team have spent whole days harrowing 

 the ground among the trees. The hired men 

 could not see the point then, and thought 

 they were wasting time. We imagine they 

 see the utility of tbat kind of work now, as 

 they are picking the excellent crop. 



So far as the fertilizer supply is concerned, 

 Mr. Hopkins is favored more than most other 

 cultivators of the soil, as he had an oppor- 

 tunity to buy old cow manure at a dairy in 

 the neighborhood— one hundred loads of 

 about three tons each, costing him 

 _only .50 cents a load. Of course it is a most 

 excellent bargain, for such a load is easily 

 worth ^.00. A good share of this manure 

 is going into the Pear orchard. 



These Bartlett Pear trees have borne full 

 crops annually for many years without a 

 miss. Three years ago, when the present 

 owner came into the possession of the place, 

 the crop sold at -SS.OO per barrel, bringing 

 aboot *1,200 in the aggregate. The next year, 

 as Mr. Hopkins gained more experience in 

 selling his products, ?!:150 were realized per 

 barrel, and the revenue from the crop 

 amounted to over $1,400. Last year he sold 

 the crop at $4.00 per barrel, with still larger 

 aggregate returns than the year before. 



The present is, of course, an exceptional 

 season. The whole crop is contracted and 

 now being delivered to a canning establish- 

 ment, the managers of which pay 5 cents per 

 pound for first and second quality, and 2)4 



