6o 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



December, 



Correspcnd^nts are urged to anticipate the season In pr ' 

 senting questions. To ask, for inslance, on April 15 or 2^ 



Peas had best be sown, could bring no answer in 

 the Slay issue, and none be/ore June, tphei 



what ._ -- „ 



' e be/ore June, when the answer 



vjould Ite nnseasonable. Question s rectivedbef ore the Vith 

 of any month stand a good chance of being answered in the 

 next paper. Not more than three questions should be sent 

 at one time. Answers to questions bearing on ttte com 

 parative value of Implements, etc., offered by different 

 dealers must not be es^ected. Seither can we promise to 

 comply toith the request sometimes made to "please answer 

 by mail." Inquiries appearing without name belong to the 

 name next foltowtng . 



Replies to Inquiries are earnestly requested from our 

 readers. In answering such give the number, your 

 tnoality and name, the latter not tor publication, unless 

 you desire. Write only on one side of the paper. 



2.0J8. Grafting Russian Apricot. What fruits can 

 be grafted on this stocli ?— A. S. K. 



2.099. Green Flies on Plants. My greenhouse 

 plants are troublt'U by these. How shall I treat ?— H.M. 



2.100. Borers below Ground Do any kind work 

 below the surface on Apple trees ?— A. G. Weber, Ark. 



2,!ul. Other Plants with Carnations. What other 

 plants could be grown with profit in a Carnation 

 house ?— F. F. 



2.102. Plans for Greenhouse. Will you give plans 

 for greenhouse, also heating arrangement ?— F. F. 



2.103. Epiphyllum malkoyana and Begonia Tri- 

 omph. They were referred to by Mr. Siiumonds 

 before Florist's Convention, Where can I get theiu ?— 

 Mrs. M. p. 



2.104. Starting Barberry Hedge. Please instruet 

 me how to grow it trom seeds, cuttings, and roots if 

 practicable. —F. L. K. 



2.105. Alfalfa for Pasture. Is this good cow pasture, 

 what soil is best suited for it and does tramping kill it? 

 — H. C.WiRD. 



2,UIB. Soil for Juneberries. Should it be very dry 

 for Juneberries ?— s. Hakvey. 



2,107- Nitrate of Soda. What is the price and where 

 can 1 get it ? 



2,10S. Prize taker Onions. Mine grew splendid tops 

 but no bulbs. What is the matter'^— O.L.B.. Beatrice. Neb. 



2.109. Kerosene fumes Injurious. Are these from 

 best oil and clear flame, injurious to plants?— G.Arnold 

 .iR , Itoohcster, N. Y. 



2.110. Best Tea Roses for Outdoors. Please give 

 list of the twelve best Tea Roses for outdoor culture?--A. 



2.111. Trimming Cedar Hedge. When Is the best 

 time to trim Red Cediir one ?— A. J. K., Mich. 



2.112. Topping White Pines. My tall White Pine 

 screen near house obstructs the afternoon sun, would 

 topping the trees mar their beauty ? When should it 

 be done ?— A. J. K., Mich. 



2.11.S Eel Worms affecting Violets. Some plants aie 

 dwarfed and sickly. When pulled up, show enlarge- 

 ments upon the roots. What is the trouble and 

 remedy V— R. S. T., Ohio. 



2.114. Root Grafting. Is it really so much better to 

 use whole rcot than a piece only ?— N. W. F. 



2.115. Frnit Trees for Roadside. What kinds are 

 most suitable?— A. B. W., W, Va. 



2,1UJ. Propagation of Lilies. What is the best 

 method i*- C. B M., New Jersey. 



2.117. Potted Hyacinths forcing themselves out of 

 the Ground. What Is the cause and cure ?— A. M. L. 



2.118. Carnation Disease. Mine die off at the roots. 

 What is the remedy 7-J. M. B. 



2.119. Celery Culture. What is the best method for 

 profit?— C. J. TOMI'KINS, Mass. 



2,12lJ. Land Plaster on Onions. Is It benedctal ; f 

 so how much should be given an acre ?— A. M. W., N. Y, 



2.121. Starting a Raspberry Plantation. What Is. 

 the best way to manage it? U. L. Upson, Lake Co., O. 



2.122. Borer on Plum Trees. It has done great 

 damage to my Plumes. What is the remedy ?— A. L 

 Tucker, Ont. Can. 



2,121. Yield of Plums. What Is the average per 



tree ?— G. S. Low, Monroe Co., N, Y. 



2.124. Fighting the Quince Borer. What is the 

 most satisfactory manner to proceed against It ?— J.W. 

 L., Wayne Co., N. Y. 



2.125. Tuberoses Not Flowering. Mine that I 

 planted one year ago in loam ami sand, then covered 

 with ashes against north wall until grass was Inch 

 high and then removed to 50*^ temperature have never 

 flowered. What Is the trouble ? C . L. M., Wler, Mass. 



2. 126. Camellias not Blooming. They are in a cool 

 greenhouse and grow linely but set no flower buds. 

 How shall 1 proceed ? J. W. T., Detroit, Mich. 



2 127. Plantains on Lawns. My lawn Is studded 

 with Plautaius. How can I get rid of them?- Perplex'd 



2,12S. Chrysanthemums. Those In pots flowered 

 early this year. What Is the reason? Some died down 

 and are sending up new shoots. How shall I treat the 

 old roots and when shall I take off the suckers?— S. S. 

 G., Rochester, N. Y. 



1,129. Fuchsia Flowers Dropping. How may this 

 he preveuteil?— H. W. D. 



2,1.10. House Walks. What will make a first class 

 walk about the house and garden?— J. L. K., St. Law- 

 rence Co.. N. Y. 



2,131. Trees Barked by Cattle. How can disastrous 

 results be avoided ?— Anxious. 



2,132. Planting Lily ot the Valley. What soli 

 should be used and how shall I treat?— A. L. K. 



2,ia3. Oleander not Flowering. What is the trouble? 

 -L. A.W. 



2.\M. Roses in Pots. How can they be succesfuUy 

 cared for ?— Amateur. 



2,13.'j. Rooting Grapevine Branches. Is the fall, or 

 spring the proper time to do this ? 



2.136. Trimming young Pears. Is It all right to 

 trim small branches during fall and winter?— A.Ij.Cox' 

 Worcester Co., Mass. 



REPLIES TO INQUIRIES. 

 •2,WJi. Wire Guards for Trees, f^creens ot 

 proper size to protect trees from injury by rab- 

 bits and mice are made by a Arm in London, 

 Ont., and sold by them at 2 or 3 cents a piece. 

 We do not know the address of the manufac- 

 turer. It seems to us, however, that suitable 

 screens for this purpose might be bought at the 

 nearest hardware store, cut to the required size, 

 and sprung around the tree. In place of wire 

 screens, common tarred building paper would 

 answer the same purpose, we think.— G. H. 



3,058. Bemedy for Flum Bot. All remedies for 

 this trouble must be of a preventive nature. 

 First select suitable soil, a strong rich clay loam 

 being best. Then manure liberally, give clean 

 cultivation, and do not allow the trees to over- 

 bear. If these points arc properly attended to 

 there will be little cause for complaint of rot. 



2,060. Gooseberry Plants from Cuttings. The 

 best time for making the cuttings is between 

 fall and winter. Select vigorous shoots ot the 

 new growth, cutting the pieces about six inches 

 long. These may be tied in bundles and buried 

 in sand in the cellar, or in any dry spot out 

 doors, so they will neither shrivel nor dry. In 

 early spi'ing plant in rows of any convenient 

 distance apart, placing the cuttings several 

 inches apart in the rows. Pack the soil firmly 

 around them. The top eye only should be above 

 ground. A still more certain way of propagating 

 Gooseberries is by means ot layering. Heap up 

 the soil around the bushes, inducing the young 

 shoots to strike root, then cut them off low and 

 plant.— G. R. 



2,029. Wintering Cabbage. Select a piece of 

 ground having thorough natural drainage. Cut 

 off the root of the Cabbage, leaving a stub only 

 tour or five inches long. Place the Cabbage on 

 top of the ground, heads down, two or three heads 

 wide in a continuous row north or west, until all 

 ai-e placed, the larger heads first, then the smaller 

 ones, afterwards the soft heads. Cover all with 

 straw. Then leave three feet ot ground on each 

 side from beyond this strip to each side of the 

 Cabbages, and also cover the latter about one 

 foot deep. When you wish to use any of thera, 

 take out the large heads first, putting plenty ot 

 hay or straw over the opened end to keep out 

 frost. Cabbages can thus be had in good eating 

 order all winter and late into the spiing. I have 

 used this plan in Virginia and New Jersey with 

 equal success.— j1. S. Shafer. 



2,010. Winter Protection for Strawberry Beds, 



I do not think that brush cut and used as you 

 suggest would prove satisfactory, and hence 

 would not advise its use. Oat, Wheat, Rye or 

 Buckwheat straw can be cheaply and readily 

 obtained. In most places tor mulching Straw- 

 berines nothing is better unless it be salt or 

 Marsh hay where that can be obtained.— C. E. P. 



2,012. Keeping Onions over Winter. Gather 

 the crop as soon as the tops die down and store 

 in a cool, well ventilated room, spreading them 

 out thinly at first. Afterwards they can be 

 placed more thickly say tour or five inches in 

 depth. On the approach ot cold weather, close 

 all windows and doors, and keep the temperature 

 just above the freezing point, but it they hap- 

 pen to freeze it will not injure them, unless they 

 are permitted to thaw and freeze again. Where 

 Onions are raised in quantity a very popular 

 method of keeping them is to spread clean straw 

 on a barn floor to the depth of eighteen inches, 

 on this spread the Onions and cover with two 

 feet or more of straw, in this way they will keep 

 until May.— Chan. E. Parnell. 



2,046. Powdery Mildew of the Bose. Opinions 

 as to the cause of this pest are varied and con- 

 tradictory. It is my opinion that extremes of 

 drought and moisture or temperature, cold 

 draughts or any other cause that will impede the 

 How of the sap will place the plant in that con- 

 dition fitted to develop mildew as it is a fungoid 

 growth, the seeds ot which are ever present in 

 the atmosphere awaiting a suitable place for 

 their development.— t'/ms. E. Partidl. 



2,082. Baspberry Blight. The trouble is prob- 

 ably the cane rust or anthracnose (OUfOsixrrium 

 nf catorl.which appears in spots or patches on both 

 the canes and leaves. The disease begins from 

 the base ot the canes and works upwards. As a 

 preventive, Prof. liailey (Horticultuial Kule 

 Book) advises to give plants an abundance ot 

 light and air by broad planting and high training. 

 The remedy recommended by the same authority 

 is to spray early in the season with sulphate ot 

 iron (copperas), and to follow later with the 

 Bordeaux mixture. Burn all canes that are past 

 recovery. 



3.013. Planting Bhubarb, Plant as early in 

 the spring as possible giving it a deep well en- 

 riched soil. 



2,0ti7. Grape for Early Uarket. There is no 

 better first early Grape for market or table than 

 the Worden, unless the newer Moyer or Green 

 Mountain should i^rove such. Moore's Early is 

 not productive enough. The Ives has been 

 largely grown for early market, but it has now 

 an unsavory reputation. It colors early but 

 ripens late, and when fully ripe, is really a good 

 Grape. But as an early market sort it is a fraud, 

 and one shipper ot green Ives " has done more 

 damage to Grape growers by restincting sales 

 and consumption than ten shippers of really 

 good later (irapes have been able to repair." 

 Plant the Worden and let the Ives alone. 



3,098. Grafting Bnssian Apricots. The only 

 fruits that might with any expectation of suc- 

 cess be top grafted upon ftussian Apricot stocks 

 are ordinary Apricots and Plums. The inquirer 

 probably has planted some trees ot the much 

 advertised Russian fruit, and is disappointed in 

 the outcome. Thousands of other fruit growers 

 all over the Union have had the same experience. 

 The question now is, what to do with the trees. 

 We may dislike to tear them up again and throw 

 them away, while we might cut the tops back 

 and insert cions ot ordinary Apricots, we would 

 have to give them special treatment by way of 

 winter protection, and retarding spring growth, 

 which is not often practicable, and perhaps sel- 

 dom profitable It the trees ot the Russian Apri- 

 cot are perfectly hardy, the inquirer could top- 

 graft them with Plum varieties, that have 

 proved hardy in his locality. On the whole, 

 however, the destruction ot the trees, and their 

 replacement b.v other more desirable truit trees 

 will be found the wiser course.— G. R. 



2,100 Borers Below Ground. The various 

 boiers that infest truit trees always enter the 

 tree bodies right at the surface of the ground 

 where the bark is soft, and work upwards inside 

 the wood. 



2,019 Fungus Disease of Spinach. Few of our 

 vegetable crops are exempt from the attacks of 

 such diseases. The one complained of is proba- 

 bly a form ot mildew. The surest preventive for 

 this and all others is a strict system ot rotation. 

 Plant on new and uninfected ground, and as 

 far as possible away from last year's Spinach 

 patch. Perhaps a light dressing ot finely pul- 

 verized sulphate ot iron (green copperas) at the 

 rate ot fifty pounds per acre, applied at or liefore 

 the time the seed is sown, may serve to destroy 

 the spores on infected soil. But this is more or 

 less conjecture. Give abundance of available 

 plant food. Dressings of nitrate of soda will be 

 found useful. Under glass the treatment rec- 

 ommended by Prof. Maynard for Lettuce mildew 

 will most likely prove effective. Grow at low 

 temperature (35 to 40 degrees at night, 50 to 70 

 degrees in davtime); give plenty ot plant food 

 and an abundance of water, but apply it in the 

 morning and bright days only; avoid sudden ex- 

 treme changes ot temperature. After the dis- 

 ease has once taken hold of the plants, it is not 

 so easily disloged; but the fumes of sulphur kept 

 boiling on a little stove in the closed greenhouse 

 or pit for several hours at a time may accom- 

 plish a cure if repeated as needed.— G. K. 



2,090. Green Fly on Plants. The insect 

 troubling the inquirer's plants is probably the 

 ordinai-y green fly or aphis. This is much easier 

 kept out ot the greenhouse than driven out. 

 By starting with clean plants, using tobacco 

 stems freely as a mulch all among and around 

 the plants, giving the latter space enough, and 

 not too much heat, the insect may usually be 

 kept in check. The professional florists avoid 

 the trouble by burning damp tobacco stems 

 regularly twice a week in their greenhouse, or 

 by keeping little tin troughs filled with strong 

 tobacco tea upon the heating pipes. Full infor- 

 mation about this method was given in an earlier 

 number,— G. R. 



2,106. Soil for Juneberry. It is by no means 

 necessary that soil should be very dry. The 

 .luneberry thrives on a great variety of soils, and 

 under varying conditions, and seems to be very 

 little exacting as to cither. For best results and 

 ease ot cultivation, we would prefer a good, 

 strong, well-drained loam or gravelly soil. The 

 same environments and culture that suit Cur- 

 rants and Gooseberries, will suit the Juneberry. 

 High leeding will hardly be necessary. 



3,0't8. Eourkrout Making. Cut the Cabbage 

 in the usual fashion, sprinkle with about as much 

 salt as you would use in cooking it, then pack 

 solidly in barrel, keg or crock, pounding it down 

 by means of a wooden i^ounder, layer after 

 layer, and at last weight it down with a cover 

 with a heavy stone or weight on top. Keep in a 

 reasonably warm place for a while, then set in 

 the cellar.'— G. R. 



2,112. Topping White Pines. Cutting off the 

 tops of your splendid row of Pines will certainly 

 and greatly mar their beauty. Jf it has to be 

 done, the proper time for the operation is in 

 Spring.- G. R. 



