88 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



February, 



New Seedling Apple. 

 We received last November from Wm. H. 

 Bassett, Atlantic Co.. N. J., a seedling Ap- 

 ple, of which an outline engraving natural 

 size is annexed. The original tree, a native 

 of New Jersey, is over 30 years old, and is a 

 very heavy bearer. The sender states that 

 the fruit is uniformly fair in appearance, 

 and free from wormy and gnarly specimens. 

 We found the specimen which reached us to 



A NEW SEEOLINQ APPLE. 



be Pippin-like, of a reddish color upon 

 greenish-yellow ground, which latter was 

 thickly sprinkled with small russet dots, 

 and some small brownish spots. The flesh 

 is white, somewhat dry and mealy, but ,of 

 good, mild, sub-acid flavor, and altogether 

 pleasant to eat. The variety will probably 

 possess value, especially for the region of 

 New Jersey. 



Hand Barrow for Carrying Berry 

 Crates. 



L. B. PIERCE, SUMMIT CO., O. 



What is known in Ohio as the Barnes- 

 ville bushel berry crate is a very substan- 

 tial and convenient package, but extremely 

 hard to carry any distance when filled, as it 

 has to be carried at arms length in front of 

 the knees. It is also unhandy for two per- 

 sons and even it regular trunk handles were 

 furnished for greater convenience in carry- 

 ing a crate between two persons there still 

 would be the objections, that it needs two 

 persons to carry one crate, and these two 

 persons walking abreast would require five 

 feet of width to walk comlortably. As in 

 Strawberries the path is less than two feet 

 wide and in Kaspberries and Blackberries 

 scarcely three, it is easy to see tiaat any 

 contrivance that will permit walking in 

 single file is much superior. 



In carrying the empties to the field, the 

 children run a long stick through the 

 handle holes and carry it walking tandem 

 as the pictures represent the Israelite spies 

 carrymg Grapes. In this case the boxes 

 are nested in the bottom out of the way. 



To overcome the difficulty of handling 

 I am constructing this winter some hand- 

 barrows as represented in the illustration. 

 They are arranged tor carrying three crates, 

 if necessary, or about ISO lbs. The side 

 pieces are ol light, but strong material, four 

 inches wide and one and a halt inches thick 

 and seven feet long. Handles are worked 

 on each end and the two pieces connected 

 by two crosspieces framed in, about three 

 feet apart or just right to hold three crates 

 which are placed crossways, makmg the 

 barrow two feet wide, inside measure. 



The framing should be done closely, as 

 there will be more or less twist and strain 

 upon the frame. The crosspieces represent- 

 ed at a and b need not be more than one 

 inch thick. At the middle of each cross- 



strip a groove is plowed one-half inch deep 

 and about flve-eighths by one and one-eighth. 

 This strip projects at the ends aialf-inch 

 and enters into mortices in the side pieces 

 holding it firm. This projecting ledge holds 

 the outside of a crate by catching between 

 two side slats. The inner side of each 

 outside crate are supported by slats passing 

 through the mortices rf f, and kept from 

 slipping end ways by a wire pin attached to 

 the side bar with a bit of 

 string. The slats should be of 

 Ash and one and a half inches 

 wide by flve-eighths of an inch 

 thick. The figiire in the next 

 column shows how the cross 

 bars support the crates ; one of 

 the side bars against the ends 

 of the crates; a h are the T 

 shaped cross pieces. The berry 

 crates are first set inside and 

 slightly moved side ways to 

 engage the projections on a and 

 b; then the crate is set between 

 and the slats d and c slid in 

 and the crates are ready to 

 move from place to place as 

 may be desirable. 



Such a barrow will come 

 handy in moving crates from 

 the farther end of long rows, 

 in bringing in berries when 

 the wagon is on the road and 

 in carrying out empties. Its 

 construction is so simple and 

 its cost so small, that the procuring of one 

 or more on every fruit farm should be at- 

 tended with advantage. 



An English Method of Dealing With 

 Insects. 



That prominent English horticultural 

 journal, the Gardeners' Chronicle, illustrates 

 what it terms Self-Acting Tobacco Sheets, 

 to be used in destroying insects both under 

 glass and on plants and trees out of doors. 

 We have had the engravings reproduced, 

 thinking the idea would interest American 

 readers, now that so much attention is being 

 given to devising means for destroying our 

 insect foes. See opposite page. 



For a long time, according to our contem- 

 porary, an article known as Tobacco paper 

 has been in use in Europe as an insecticide. 

 This new Tobacco sheet, is claimed to be 

 more scientifically prepared than the ordi- 

 nary Tobacco-paper. By acting chemically 

 on woody fibre, the mineral and resinous 

 matters are removed, and a more or less 

 pure form of cellulose results. The com- 

 bustion of the resinous matter in ordinary 

 Tobacco-paper, the jotu'ual quoted says, is 

 known to be injurious. This cellulose, in 

 the form of sheets, is saturated with Tobacco 

 juice containing nicotine of determined 

 strength and proportion, so that something 

 like certainty of composition and consequent 

 regularity in the result is ensured. The 

 sheets are hung up, or supported, and lit at 

 one corner, a dense smoke without flame be- 

 ing given off. Also, the injury to foliage, re- 

 sulting from the use of hot coals or coke, is 

 entirely dispensed with. The sheets can be 

 used tor single plants or trees in the open, 

 either on a small scale or on the largest 

 scale in or out of doors. 



The illustrations given, show various 

 methods ot employing the Tobacco-sheets, 

 from which it will be seen that, with appro- 

 priate appliances, the method it is claimed 

 IS as well adapted for out-door trees of mod- 

 erate height, as for greenhouses or frames. 

 Its applicability to fruit trees on a large 

 scale in place of spraying with Paris green 

 or London purple, which are dangerous to 

 handle, or with kerosene emulsion, is a 

 matter that resolves itself into one of cost. 



The editor of the Chronicle has no doubt 

 of the value of the new introduction for 



greenhouses and gardens, and thinks it 

 would be very serviceable in orchards if the 

 price will permit of its use.. 



Some Ideas on Grapes, Straw- 

 berries, Etc. 



W. FALCONER, GLENCOVE N. Y. 



Does the English Sparrow injure 

 Grapes ? No, not so far as I know. We 

 have nearly two acres in Grapevines and 

 every fall have got to net the vines to save 

 the Grapes from the birds. The little 

 sparrow is with us in thousands and he has 

 sins enough, apart from Grapes, to answer 

 for, but on the Grape question he is inno- 

 cent with us. He is constantly learning 

 new tricks, however, his latest occurred this 

 fall, when he ate our Spinach seed. He 

 never did this, with us, before. 



Strawberries after Strawberries. We 

 have a piece of moist flUed-in land which 

 has been continuously cropped with Straw- 

 berries for ten years, and the plants do fairly 

 well in yet. The variety is Sharpless, and 

 we renew half of the plantation every year, 

 saving the one-year old, and turning under 

 the two-year old plants, replanting it at 

 once. We manure heavily at every replant- 

 ing, also top-dress between the rows with 

 manure every year, and mulch with sea- 

 thatch In winter. This patch gives us our 

 largest and latest berries, and we get great 

 crops of handsome fruit from it. But it is 

 failing: The plants don't grow as vigorously 

 or fruit as full as they did some years ago; 

 we keep it in Strawberries merely because 

 it is the best place we have got for late fruit. 



Evergreens for the Plains. Pinus 

 ponderosa cannot be beaten by any other 

 evergreen. And here in the east it is one 

 of the most unsatisfactory evergreen trees 

 that we have got, and its new relatives P. 

 Coulteri and P. Geffreyi are no better. They 

 live, and grow a little, but always present a 

 stunted, unthrifty, unhappy appearance. 

 The Scotch Pine does well here for about 

 fifteen or twenty years but is surpassed by 

 the Austrian. On the other hand the 

 Douglas Fir ( Pseudotsuga Douglasii ) and 

 the Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) 

 from Colorado Mountain stock only, are 

 among the very hardiest and best thriving 

 trees we have got, and so too is the Colorado 

 White Fir { Abies concolor ) one of our 

 hardiest, handsomest and thriftiest trees 

 when planted in the east. 



COMMENTS BY READERS. 



A (lepartinent to whU-h all are inmted to send notes 

 of experience and observation concerning topics that 

 recently have been treated on in this Journal, Many 

 such contributions monthlj/ are welcome, 



A Selection of Annuals. 1 suppose all 

 amateurs begin by investing freely in the 

 seeds of annuals. I am sure that I did, and 

 do not regret it, for I have never found more 

 pleasure than in greeting the little pets that 

 came with much care and nursing from 

 the tiny seeds bought of B. K. Bliss, 30 years 

 ago. But it is quite questionable whether 

 the crowd ot flowers, increasing year by year 



Hand Barrow fur Carrying Berry Crates. 



does not make it necessary for us, purely on the 

 score of work, to reduce our annuals to a very 

 select list. 1 shall venture to suggest a few hints 

 to younger planters, who will be tempted by the 

 showy catalogues to try everything between the 

 covers. I make it a first rule, unless there be a 

 special reason to ,make exception, to exclude 

 flowers without perfume, for among these tiny 

 pets, the perfume is the greeting given to us at 

 we draw near them. On the same ground I ex- 

 clude the coarser or stifl'er sorts, which have 

 nothing in the way of grace or sweetness to 



