I89I. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



67 



From 2,000 seedling Potatoes, which I at one 

 time had, none are left, as they gradually 

 dwindled down to nothing. Often in our 

 crosses the resulting seed are imperfect, as 

 when I crossed Oernniurn Xdnduinciiin 

 (female) with a PcJdrrjfjniuin I got only 

 shells instead of seeds. 



Petunias ot the finest strains were sown, 

 and the best flowers crossed; these then pro- 

 duced the most remarkable Petunia flowers 

 I have ever seen, some being 7 inches in 

 diameter. In crossing these large ones, 

 however, we got but few seeds, which in 

 turn, strange as it seems, produced only 

 rosettes of green leaves, there being no 

 trace whatever of a flower. 



For Ave or six seasons we worked to im- 

 prove the Pea by crossing, but were at length 

 discouraged because the strains could QOt 

 be established. Again, I endeavore( to 

 secure from Corn twice as many ears as 

 were raised ordinarily, and here is a stalk 

 [showing one] five feet high in which you 

 can see that there is at the axil of each leaf 

 an embryo ear, seven in all. Here my in- 

 tentions were defeated because the flowers 

 at the top could not bear pollen enough to 

 fertilize as many ears, so that my object as 

 yet has not been fully attained. 



Among many other things I have tried 

 crossing the white Weigela and bush 

 Honeysuckle, Catalpa and Trumpet vine, 

 Currant and Gooseberry, Apple and Pear, 

 Cherry and Plum, different kinds of Grapes 

 in the hope of getting superior sorts, but all 

 in vain. Nothing of importance has re- 

 sulted ; yet do not understand me to say 

 that everything has failed, for this is far 

 from beiog the case. 



Fifteen years ago I crossed Wheat and 

 Rye, in the attempt to secure a new and 

 valuable grain. The first result were some 

 seed of which ten germinated. Through 

 these fifteen years of work a hybrid grain 

 has been secured that is 1.5-lt)ths Rye ; the 

 seeds at first were nearly all sterile, but 

 they seem to be improving in fertility 

 Some of these grains have already been in- 

 troduced by seedsmen, and others will be in 

 the future. The kernels are large, early as 

 Rye and perfectly hardy. 



Crosses of Blackberry and Raspberry re- 

 sulted in mixtures of which some were 

 intermediate, others resembling either par- 

 ent. Whether they will amount to any- 

 thing commercially remains to be seen ; 

 many of them bear flowers but set no fruit. 

 In my work with Roses, I have in the past 

 made no attempt to produce any except 

 from the pink Bosa rugosa as the mother 

 and Harrison's Yellow as the male, both 

 being very hardy, the former bearing single 

 flowers and the latter semi-double ones. 

 Most of the seedlings obtained died from 

 mildew, only thirty surviving. Ot these the 

 most resemble the male in foliage, the 

 flowers were small, and all had either light 

 or dark fruit, there being no yellow or 

 white whatever. 



Some of the plants bear flowers so double 

 that they cannot open ; such as show rugosa 

 blood have semi-double blooms, which so 

 nearly resemble Gen. Jacqueminot that 

 they cannot be distinguished except by the 

 foliage. They bloom during the entire sum- 

 mer, but that only so small a proportion of 

 the seedlings should resemble a parent 

 having the extremely strong characteristics 

 of n(;;os« is a most strange and unexpected 

 result. 



The present season I have secured 3,000 

 seedlings of Rosd rugosd (female) and the 

 yellow tea rose. A disappointment has been 

 felt in that the children of so rugged a 

 mother should resemble her so little in con- 

 stitution as they do, being weakly and 

 easily destroyed by mildew ; the seeds also 

 are not virile, having but little vitality. 

 Rubws phwnicolasius is a splendid plant, 



that is worthy of a place in every garden. 

 The berry is enclosed in a calyx which is 

 covered with viscid hairs, which protect 

 them from worms ; the fruit has a .Spicy 

 flavor that is quite pleasant to many people. 

 The plant has been crossed with R. rugosn, 

 but the results, as yet, cannot be known. 



Have We Learned Anything About 



Selecting and Planting Nursery 



Stock? 



Much of the advice given concerning the 

 selection of fruit trees at the nursery for 

 planting, is far from being reliable, and 

 some of it is entirely misleading. In so good 

 a paper as the Farm Journal, for instance, 

 we find this paragraph: " In determining 

 between large and small trees for setting, 

 select the latter every time. You will never 

 regret it. The former may please the eye 

 at first, but the latter will fill the purse 

 much sooner." While this sentiment is en- 

 tirely in harmony with orthodox horticul- 

 tural doctrine, and accepted as gospel truth 

 by almost all progressive fruit growers, we 

 have to oppose it as misleading in certain 

 respects. " Small " trees with nurserymeu, 

 quite generally, mean the small undevel- 

 oped trees in a block which have not kept 

 up in growth with those of the same age 

 around them. 



The fact is that the same principles which 

 govern the selection of vegetable and flow- 

 ering plants should be taken as applicable 

 to the selection of fruit trees. No gardener 

 would voluntarily set out dwarfed scrawny 

 Celery or Cabbage plants, or any other 

 vegetable plants that have been crowded 

 and crippled, when he has the choice be- 

 tween them and strong, well-grown and 

 fully-developed ones. The considerations 

 which must guide us in our choice of plants 

 and trees are as follows: (1) Proper age; (3) 

 normal, healthy and thrifty growth; (3) 

 proper balance between top and root growth ; 

 (4) freedom from insects, disease or other 

 blemishes. 



Proper Age. This is perhaps more im- 

 portant with vegetable plants than with 

 trees. The life of the former is compara- 

 tively short, hence they should be set out 

 before they are too old. A Cabbage plant, 

 for instance, after having been allowed to 

 remain in the crowded seed bed until it has 

 grown unreasonably large, and roots and 

 stem have become tough and woody, gives 

 very little promise of ever forming a good 

 head. Going to the other extreme is fol- 

 lowed by less serious consequences, and 

 does not exclude or even endanger ultimate 

 success. We may use very young vegetable 

 plants and raise good crops, although the 

 operation of transplanting itself may be 

 more convenient, and perhaps safer when 

 plants in more advanced stages of develop- 

 ment are selected. Young tree are usually 

 preferable to old ones, yet if we desire to 

 get them in bearing as soon as possible after 

 the setting, it will not do to go to the ex- 

 treme. The best budded Peach tree for plant- 

 ing has a two-year old root and one-year 

 old top, and nothing much can be gained 

 for early bearing by planting older trees. 

 On the other hand, if we plant a one-year 

 old seedling having a live bud (inserted the 

 fall before), we will most likely have to wait 

 a year longer for our flrst fruit. Apple and 

 Pear trees are all right for planting when 

 two or three years old from the root graft; 

 yet while giving them the preference at this 

 age, we do not assert that older ones may 

 not, or .should not be used. With proper 

 care most trees can be successfully trans- 

 planted, even when of bearing age and size. 

 But in the latter case the conditions must 

 be altogether difl'erent, and more favorable, 

 in order to insure .success, than those needed 

 for successful planting of young trees. 



Normal Growth. No plant or tree is fit 

 for setting out unless it had made a normal 

 healthy growth in the seed bed or nursery. 

 Neither extreme is desirable. We do not 

 want the tree that is dwarfed and stunted 

 for lack of food, or crippled from lack of 

 room for full development; nor do we want 

 one that was overgrown, in consequence of 

 over-feeding with nitrogenous matter, and 

 had made an excessive growth of tender, 

 succulent wood. 



The third and fourth points, viz.: Proper 

 balance of root and top growth, and free- 

 dom from blemishes, might properly be 

 included in the consideration of normal 

 growth. With proper space to grow in, and 

 proper food and soil, the trees can hardly 

 do otherwise than grow a good root as well 

 as a good top; while growth cannot be 

 called normal if checked by insects or fun- 

 gus disease. 



The Ideal Tree to Set. The tree of our 

 choice, therefore, is one that is old enough 

 but not too old (differing with different 

 kinds); large for its age, with well-ripened 

 wood, and fully developed root system, and 

 one having a straight, clean stem, free from 

 any sign of bark lice or other insets, or from 

 anything that might look suspicious or like 

 a blemish. 



These teachings are not only founded on 

 sound theory, but have been proved correct 

 in practice. One instance may suffice. Some 

 years ago, the writer, while living in New 

 Jersey, planted a number of Peach trees, 

 budded varieties, all having one-year old 

 tops. Some of these trees were quite large, 

 while others were rather below medium in 

 size. The large trees were planted in one 

 row, the others in another. The former 

 made an immense top growth during the 

 first summer, bore a few scattering Peaches 

 the year following, and were in proper shape 

 for a respectable crop the third year after 

 setting. At that time the small trees in the 

 other row had not yet made the top growth 

 produced by the others the year previous, 

 and the prospects for fruit were slim indeed. 

 We have had other experiences of this kind, 

 and in short, we will take large trees in pref- 

 erence to dwarfed ones every time. 



Pruning Trees at Planting. 



Few planters head their young trees back 

 as much as they should when setting them. 

 Mr. R. W. Furnas of Nebraska, first class 

 authority, and having long practical ex- 

 perience, says that in transplanting the 

 layer forest tree for ornamental purposes, 

 all above an inch in diameter, to insure sue 

 cess, should be cut back to six, eight, ten or 

 twelve feet, as taste may dictate. Prune off 

 every limb, leaving the tree when planted, 

 a mere bare stem or stake. Where cut off 

 at top, and where limbs are cut away, they 

 should be painted over with common paint, 

 or better, a thick solution of gum shellac 

 and alcohol. 



The flrst duty a transplanted tree has to 

 perform, is to get hold of and identify itself 

 again with the soil. Everything retarding 

 this work should be avoided. Where limbs 

 are left, leaves put out soon, and the growth 

 work goes on in that direction, thus retard- 

 ing work under ground. Deprived of limbs 

 and leaves for a time, root work begins at 

 once, and progresses before leaves put forth. 



Besides when the top is left, and leaves 

 put forth, the tree is more exposed to winds, 

 and kept constantly swaying to and fro, 

 loosening and disturbing the roots, and 

 thus retarding — in fact, in a large majority 

 of instances actually destroying— root effort, 

 and resulting in a total loss of the tree. 



By the heading back process all bodies 

 are also of uniform height from the ground 

 and the tops, with very little care as they 

 grow, can be made of uniform or any de- 

 sired shape. The best Apple and Peach 



