74 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



January, 





Reinq MatterThat Dbsehves 



TO BE WIDELY KHOWlJ. 



Southern Plants for the 

 North. In I'eply to a ques- 

 tion as to acelimatiou of 

 southern plants at the 

 north, Mr. Jackson Dawson 

 said, " It cannot be done." 

 —Proceedings S. A. F. 



Qrowlng Huckleberries. 

 One case was reported 

 where $2,300 worth were sold by one person 

 in New Hampshire, another estimated a crop 

 of 50 bushels from one acre, left unpicked. 

 —Massachusetts Hurt. Society. 



Baise Wood for Fuel. Thousands of our West- 

 em farmers pay one-fifth of their earnings for 

 fuel, when an acre of good land thickly planted to 

 Catalpa or Ailanthus, would furnish abundant 

 good fuel.— (?. J". Carpenter, Sec'y Netyraska Hort. 

 Society. 



Eemedy for Eose Beetle. The beetles make 

 their appearanc about June 1, attacking Grapes, 

 Peaches, Cherries and Apples; 25 or 30 have been 

 seen on a single Peach. We advised an inquirer 

 to spray his trees and vines with lime wash, which 

 he did, finding that it drove the bugs away very 

 satisfactorily.— Report o/ Ohio Agricultural Sta- 

 tion. 



Petroleum for Bustle Work. We see on every 

 hand handsome rustic work falling to decay. It 

 is commonly made of wood which does not last 

 long. Soak it thoroughly with crude petroleum 

 when new, and it will remain unchange indefin- 

 itely. The peculiar brown color imparted by a 

 mixture of heavy oil remains unchanged. The 

 oil is cheap, and it may be rapidly and easily 

 brushed over the surface and sunk into the pores 

 with a whitewash brush. Apply it heavily.— 

 Report Ohio State Forestry liureau. 



The Papaw. For large size, productiveness 

 and luxurious growth of tree, the Papaw ranks 

 high among our promising wild fruits. It is not 

 naturally as variable as the Persimmon, and it 

 will probably take a much longer time to pro- 

 duce desirable varieties. There are several 

 species and varieties with which to begin experi- 

 ments, and it is quite probable that some of the 

 tropical members of this family may be made 

 available in improving the flavor of our wild 

 species.— A. S. Fuller before A m. Pom. Society. 



Apple Scab. The fungus in its active form is 

 well known. It attacks the Apple, the leaves 

 and young shoots, and has been repeatedly prop- 

 agated from one orchard to another on grafts. 

 It is probably perennial in its habit, living from 

 one year to another in its vegetative state. It 

 does not penetrate deeply in the tissues, but is 

 a surface disease, and is readily susceptible 

 to fungicides. A tree badly effected was 

 selected to experiment with, one-half was 

 sprayed with hypo-sulphide of soda; two weeks 

 later it received another application. The result 

 at harvest was that the sprayed portion of the 

 tree yielded much better fruit than the other.— 

 Prof. Scrihner. before the N. J. Hort. Society. 



Clover for Manure. Of all plants raised on the 

 farm the Clover is most valuable. It is the only 

 crop that will yield a direct profit, and at the 

 same time enrich the land; it furnishes at one 

 time, the best hay crop and the best manure crop. 

 Clover should never be left down longer than 

 the second year. My method is to sow Clover 

 with all small grain, and when the crops are 

 taken off at harvest time the whole farm with 

 the exception of Corn land, is green with Clover, 

 it protects the land from the sun, and later 

 makes good fall feed. One should keep up a ro- 

 tation, sow every spring, and plow up a portion 

 every fall. Land plaster used with Clover can- 

 not be too highly recommended. All vegetable 

 matter while decaying generates ammonia, which 

 becomes vaporized at m degrees, and conse- 

 quently lost to the soil, but by the cooling of the 

 atmosphere, the ammonia is condensed with 

 moisture brought down by dews and rain, the 

 plaster being mixed with the surfaceof the land, 

 acts to hold and incorporate it with the soil, 

 whereby it becomes fixed as plant food.— C. H. 

 Kverett, before Wisconsin Hort. Society. 



Copper for Grape Black Eot. Four preparations 

 were used as follows: 1. Bordeaux mixture. 3. 

 The ammoniacal carbonate of copper solution. 

 3. Carbonate of copper in suspension. 4. Bor- 

 deaux mixture and ammonical carbonate of cop- 



per solution, three applications of the former 

 followed by five of the latter . The test was made 

 12 miles from Washington on 9.56 Concord rines, 

 IB years old and trained to stakes seven feet high. 

 The first treatment was when the leaves were 

 beginning to unfold. May 12 the second treat- 

 ment was made, and the others, six in number, 

 followed at intervals of ten days. The cost of 

 making the whole number of applications was 

 from \H to a little more than 3 cents per vine, 

 depending upon the mixture. The results may 

 be summarized as follows: The Bordeaux mix- 

 ture saved 99.2 per cent of the fruit. The Am- 

 moniacal solution 97.5 per cent. The carbonate 

 of copper in suspension 93.6 per cent, and the 

 bordeaux mixture and ammoniacal solution 92.2 

 per cent. All of the fruit from the check plots 

 was diseased. None of the untreated vines 

 yielded any healthy fruit.— U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture. 



Better Country Eoadways. The best road is a 

 raised, hard roadway, the center of gravel. Ma- 

 cadam, or similar material, with a side track on 

 one or both sides for light driving and travel in 

 dry weather. Good drainage is an essential feat- 

 ure, and drains should be of sufficient capacity. 

 The ideal roadway should be seeded to grass 

 where not used, evened up, weeds kept down, 

 all noxious ones being cut out by the roots, with 

 the sides having an easy slope. Shade trees 

 should be planted close enough to keep out the 

 fierce sunlight, but not near enough to prevent 

 a growth of grass. Ketuse should not be dumped 

 in the streets. Weeds when pulled up should 

 not be thrown into the streets to dry, and their 

 seeds distributed by passing vehicles. This 

 matter of weeds should be attended to by high- 

 way officers. The mowing of grass may be left 

 to individual taste. The old system of road dis- 

 Iricts and district overseers should be abolished, 

 and the work left to three road commissioners, 

 one of whom should have the necessary time and 

 ability to personally supervise the work. Go to 

 the town meetings and see to it that the highway 

 commissioners are instructed to destroy noxious 

 weeds, and put the roads in the order. Local 

 highway improvement societies, covering a cer- 

 tain definite portion of road should be formed, 

 and meet once a month, and a committee ap- 

 pointed who should advise property owners as to 

 needed operations. Pasturing in highways if 

 carried out systematically is not hurtful, though 

 general ranging, should not be allowed -L. Bry- 

 ant, before Northern Illituiis Hort. Society. 



How Not to Brow Shrubs and Trees. Dig a 

 hole, do not trouble about its depth, nor the 

 space that will be required for the roots. If the 

 soil consists of brick-bats, it will do— it will do 

 better still if it be sodden with gas-the tree will 

 the sooner cease from troubling. Dig your hole 

 as close as may be to the gas-pipes, telegraph- 

 tubes and sewers— you will have the less soil to 

 remove. Select a tree that is sure to be too big 

 for its place in a short time. You can then cut 

 off its branches and make it look like a real work 

 of art, such as a clothes-prop or a gibbet. Plant 

 the trees or the shrubs as thickly as possible, and 

 forget to thin them out: you will thus produce 

 an immediate effect, and you will have the sat- 

 isfaction of witnessing a fight- and appreciating 

 a struggle for existence. Having planted your 

 tree, stake it in such a way that the stem may be 

 snapped off; this will give the wind something to 

 do Never think of removang the stake or loos- 

 ening its ties— that would involve too much 

 trouble. Avoid placing any guard around the 

 newly-planted tree; in this way you will provide 

 fodder for your neighbor's horse, who will graze 

 contentedly on the bark while he waits at your 

 door; and you will provide healthful amusement 

 for the boys, who will playfully score the bark 

 with their knives. In dry weather do not turn 

 the hose on to the roots, such procedures 

 make a mess, and cause the leaves to remain on 

 longer; and, lastly, whenever circumstances per- 

 mit, do not fail to run the steam roller over the 

 roots. It bruises them well, and saves the neces- 

 sity for root pruning.— floya! Hort. Society. 



Science in Common Things. Sometime in the 

 spring I was asked by a lady friend to call and 

 see a tree something was the matter with. I 

 found it was an Arbor Vitie, which she was very 

 fond of. " You being such a well-known scien- 

 tific man, Mr. Meehan, I thought if I could get 

 you to see what was the matter with the tree, 1 

 am sure you could advise me what to do about 

 it." I looked at the tree and found that it was 

 covered with drop or bag worms. She said, " I 

 have asked every one I could think of what to 

 do with this tree, and no one could tell me, and I 



thought that your science would aid me." I 

 said, "All you have to do is to pick them off." 

 " Pick them off: " she exclaimed. " Yes, you see 

 there are 60 all told, so at the rate of four to a 

 minute, in fifteen minutes you can clear the 

 tree." Well, well," she said, " is that all there is 

 in science? I thought you would tell me how to 

 get rid of them." Once I was walking with Dr. 

 Warder and a Wisconsin farmer over the letters 

 farm. Presently Dr. Warder picked up some 

 bones and said, '• That is a sheep's bone, and the 

 other that is an ox's bone." Our farmer could 

 contain himself any longer, and said, "Pardon 

 me, 1 am only an ignorant farmer, but I would 

 like to know something about bones; it is in my 

 line, and I would like to know how you can dis- 

 tinguish an ox's bone from a sheep's bone." 

 " Oh, my friend," said the doctor, " it is very 

 simple, don't you see this was a beef-steak, and 

 here is where the butcher sawed the steak off? " 

 " Why," he replied, " is that science? Well, well, 

 live and learn. I thought science was wonderful, 

 but it appears every one can understand it." Now 

 that is all there is in science in horticulture. 

 Science is very simple, yet really we know very 

 little about it. We laugh when we hear these 

 things. It is keeping your eyes and ears open, 

 putting this and that together, and then profiting 

 by the lesson. That is all; living and learning, 

 and learning and living as we go along.— Thomas 

 Meehan. 



On Building and Managing Green- 

 houses. 



iFrotii Wm. D. Philbri^^k before the Mass. Hort. Soc.i 

 The general aspect of greenhouses should 

 be south or southeast; the Camellia, the 

 Ferns, some Orchids and Begonias, will 

 thrive better in a house facing east or west 

 or even north; and for the cutting bench a 

 northern aspect is to be desired. 



Most of the Lettuce houses have a rise of three 

 feet in a rafter twelve feet long, and the beds 

 are from eighteen inches to five feet from the 

 glass. Such houses can be devoted to growing 

 Cucumbers in spring and summer. 



When higher temperature is required give 

 tour to five feet rise to twelve feet horizontal. 

 I like to have movable sashes on both sides, for 

 the purpose of throwing earth and manure in or 

 out, and for passing plants in when planting 

 The glass mostly used for greenhouses is ten 

 inches by twelve. The glass should be free from 

 blisters and lenses, fiat, and double thick. 



The sash bars, if supported by purlins every 

 six or seven feet, are best made of two by one 

 and a quarter inch Cypress, rabited to receive 

 the glass, and grooved at the sides so as to catch 

 the drip. Ample ventilation must be provided 

 by frequent sashes being hung with suitable 

 fastenings ; some near the top of the house ; 

 others near the ground on the south side. When 

 several greenhouses are to be built near each 

 other they may all be heated by one boiler by 

 steam, but I prefer to have the houses about 20 

 feet apart in order to work a cart between them, 

 and to give more light and divide the risk of fire. 

 The heating of large greenhouses is done far 

 more satisfactorily by steam than by any other 

 method. The advantages are, having complete 

 and perfect control of the temperature, and 

 economy of labor and fuel in large places. 

 Where no night fireman is employed, and where 

 the coal must be burned slowly with a dull draft, 

 there is little saving of coal by using steam; still 

 the temperature can be more easily regulated 

 than with hot water, and the cost for fitting up 

 for steam is less than for hot water. The best 

 arrangement of pipes for steam heating is to 

 have one flow pipe for each house, passing over- 

 bead and branching at the farther end into as 

 many return pipes as are required. Inch and a 

 half flow pipe answers for the flow, and inch and 

 a quarter or inch pipe for the return. Place 

 steam pipes at a height of two or three feet 

 above the water line in the boiler if possible. In 

 a circuit of five hundred feet a difference in 

 pressure between the flow and return pipe near 

 the boiler is from one to two pounds; this would 

 be balanced by two to four feet perpendicular 

 height of water in the return pipe. Where no 

 watchman is employed, use a boiler large enough 

 to hold steam for several hours without atten- 

 tion. This is easily done by means of the auto- 

 matic draught regulator, but the dull draught 

 required by this method is wasteful of coal 

 though economical care. About one-third of 

 the coal is wasted in a dull fire. It is a common 

 mistake to think that a dull fire is economical of 



