lOO 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



February, 



"He that queslioneth much shall learn much."— 

 BACON. 



Correapondents are urged to anticipate the eeanort in prr 

 tenting queetione. To aak, for instance, on April 15 or 20 

 what Feaa had beat be noion, oould brino no anexcer in 

 the May iaaue, and none be/ore June, when the answer 

 would be unseasonable. Questions reccivedbef ore the \'ith 

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

 next paper. Sot more than three questions should be sent 

 at one time. Answers to questions bearing on the com- 

 parative value of implements, etc., offered by different 

 dealers must not be expected. Neither can we promise to 

 comply with the request sometimes made to "please answer 

 by mail." Inquiries appearing tcithout name belong to the 

 name next following. 



Replies to Inquiries are earmestly requested from our 

 readers. In answering such give Che number, your 

 looallty and name, the latter not for publication, unless 

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



2.178. Weieht of Fruit. What Is the bushel weight 

 of different kinds In New York?— Sobscriber. 



2.179. Transplanting Raspberries and Black- 

 berries. Will It do in the fall or should they be heeled 

 In over winter?— F, A. F. 



2.180. Best Sweet Corn, What is the best variety 

 for home use?-E. P. R., Shelby Co., O. 



2.181. Propagation of Hard? Shrubs. How do 

 nui'serymen increase Azalea, Deutzia, Exochordia, 

 Hydrangea, Magnolia, Salisburla, and others not 

 readily raised from seed? 



2.182. Increasing Outdoor Vines. How are Aristo- 

 lochla. Clematis, and other hardy climbers raised? 



2,I8;J. The Propagation of Evergreens. How are 

 Arbor Vitaeas, Junipers and Rhododendrons increased? 

 —A Beginner. 



2.184. Budding or Grafting? Which is best. Does 

 budding lead to early decay of trees?— A. Subscriber. 



2.185. Nymphae Odorata in Barrels. Mine planted 

 in barrels half full of wacer grow but do not blossom, 

 the leaves also are cut. What is the matter?— C. H. P. 



2.186. Tobacco Stems as Fertiliziers. What are 

 they worth?— H. Wittel, Ku. 



2.187. Best Quince Stock. Is the Orange stock as 

 good as the Angers?-!. L. Hutchinson and Sons. 



2.183. Cabbage Planting Machine. Is there such a 

 machine? If so, who makes It ?— A.P. Howard & Sons. 



2.189. Paris Green for Curl Leaf. Would you 

 recommend as a preventive spraying before blossom- 

 ing?— H. K. WILLSON, Ontario. 



2.190. Pruning Currants. How should plants two 

 years set be trimmed?— N. N. F., Slich. 



2.191. Broom Corn Culture. Is it profitable? How 

 Is the crop grown?— Old Sub.scribeb. 



2.192. Grafting the Pecan. Please explain the best 

 method,— J. G. B., Arkansas Co. Texas, 



2.193. Pine Straw as Manure, Is It worth gather- 

 ing? What isits value?-N. S. F.. Marlborough Co.,S.C, 



2,19-1 Soil and Site for Orchard. What kind is 

 best for fruit trees?— Waldorf, Monroe Co., N. Y, 



2.195. Making young Orchards Bear. Mine is 

 tardy to fruit. How shall I treat?— R. h„ AshlandCo.,0. 



2.196. Mariana Plum for Stock. Must It be double 

 worked for Peach? How should cuttings be struck?- 

 J. N. M.. Kalamazoo Co., Slich. 



2.197. Spraying for Grape Rot. Is spraying with 

 Bordeaux mixture a certain remedy?— S. F. B., For- 

 syth, Oa. 



2.198. Saving Girdled Trees. How can I save trees 

 girdled by rabbits and mice?— Anxious. 



2.199. Russian Apricots. Mine do well although 

 they have not yet fruited. Would It pay to put in 

 more?— W. Exley. 



2.200. Hen Manure. What is it worth per bbl. 

 Stable manure being worth eight cents per bbl? 



2.201. Applying Hen Manure. How best used in 

 the garden and how much per acre?- G. T. 



2.202. Raising Sage. Can it be done from seed, 

 what are best varieties and how should It be treated^ 

 E. W. Mekrit. 



2.20:i. Quinces on Black Land. Would any variety 

 do profitably on black land that Is very wet In spring 

 and then dries out In summer? 



2,2lM. Filberts from Seeds. Would English and 

 Kentish Cob come true? How soon would they bear? 



2.205. Trees for Hillside. Would European Larch, 

 Black Cherry and Blackberry do well on a rich lime- 

 stone hillside occupied now with a) Maples per acre?— 

 Allen Bros. 



2.206. Catching Slugs. What is a good way to caKh 

 slugs?- J. PiEKSON, Middlesex Co., Mass. 



2.207. Primulas Failing. They do well untU in 3-ln. 



Sots In cold frames. Then they stop growth and 

 owerwhen small. What alls them?- W. B. R., Tus- 

 cola Co., Mich. 



2.208. Reviving Flowers. Can withered flowers 

 be revlved?-J. R. G., New York Co., .V. 1'. 



2.209. Oallas as House Plants, What is the best 

 treatment?— E. E. L., Lake Co.,0. 



2.210. Violets In Winter. What are good forcing 

 varieties and how to be treated?— W. N., Chicago, Ills. 



2.211. Killing Green Fly. What Is the best way to 

 destroy this pest In a small con.servatory?— G. B. M. 

 Phila.,Pa. 



2.212. Clay for Roses. Could this be mixed with 

 sandy soli to their advantage?-C. L. T. Say Co., Mich. 



2,213- Early Cauliflower. How should I proceed to 

 raise good ones?— J- A. R., Orange Co., X. Y. 



2.214. Winter Flowers irom Seed. What are some 

 of the most useful kinds?— A. M. W., St Louis, Mo. 



2.215. Border Flowers from Seed. Please name 

 some of best kinds.— G. W. L., Tioga Co., Pa, 



2.216. Cnlture of Dahlias. What is the best treat- 

 ment for them?— O K. L., Cass Co., Ind. 



2.217. Impoverished Lawn. My sward has had a 

 deadlsh appearance. Can't make out what ails it.- F. 

 T. S., Franklin Co., Vt, 



2.218. Annuals for Out Flowers. Are the Cen- 

 taureas and double white Achillea desirable? What 

 other perennials or shrubs would be profitable for 

 cut blooms?— L. L. , JSrie Co,, N. T. 



REPLIES TO INQUIRIES. 



2,197. Spraying for Brape Eot, There cannot 

 be the shadow of a doubt about tbe efficacy of 

 copper mixtures for the prevention or at least 

 mitigation of the fungous diseases of the Grape. 

 We have it entirely in our power to grow good 

 crops of Grapes notwithstanding mildew and 

 rots, if we only apply the Bordeaux mixture, 

 and in later stages the ammoniacal copper car- 

 bonate solution, early and persistently enough. 

 The reason why we hear of so many failures, 

 may be found solely in the fact that the diseases 

 often had taken hold of the vine long before 

 even the first application of the Bordeaux mix- 

 ture was made. The first application can hardly 

 be made too early. To make a sure thing of it, 

 wash or swab the whole vine with a saturated 

 solution of green copperas (sulphate of iron) in 

 early spring before the buds have started. Fol- 

 low this with the Bordeaux mixture, in spray, 

 when the first leaves appear, repeating every ten 

 days or two weeks, until the berries have grown 

 to "some size, then change the spraying solution, 

 using the ammonical copper carbonate for tbe 

 last one or two applications. This treatment will 

 give rot very little chance.— G. E. . 



a,i90. Pruning Cnrrant Bushes. The two- 

 year old bushes will probably need little if any 

 pruning. The best fruit grows on wood of the 

 previous season's growth. If there are too many 

 canes, some of the older ones may be entirely 

 cut away, also the imperfectly-developed ones of 

 tbe new growth. This occasional removal of 

 old canes in the thrifty growing plants is all the 

 pruning needed, and it serves to keep the plants 

 in good shape, and in good fruiting condition 

 generally.— G. K. 



2,191. Broom Corn Culture. Whether Broom 

 Corn growing is profitable or not, is not to be 

 answered with a simple yes or no. Like Wheat 

 growing, or the production of any other crop^ 

 this depends on many conditions and on manage- 

 ment. The harvesting of tbe crop requires con- 

 siderable care and a great deal of labor, and for 

 this reason the small grower will seldom find the 

 production of the crop profitable, especially 

 since prices of the product are very variable. 

 On the other hand it is an easy enough and per- 

 haps commendable thing for rural people to 

 grow a little patch of Broom Corn and manu- 

 facture the brooms needed for their own use, 

 the business is easily learned, and the tarmer 

 and farmer's boys will find broom making in- 

 teresting and profitable during the long winter 

 evenings. Prepare the soil as you would for 

 Corn making the rows three or three and one- 

 half feet apart, and plant eight or ten seeds 

 every thirty inches apart in the row. More than 

 that number should not be allowed to grow to 

 the hill. Cultivate like Corn. The seed is excel- 

 lent for poultry, and the leaves may be used as 

 fodder for the cattle.— G. R. 



2,173. Mealy Bug. Touch the bugs with 

 alcohol.— F. L. Wright. 



2,143. Summer Pruning of the Orape. At 

 one time I though summer pruning all right, 

 but after experimenting for 15 years I find it 

 worse than useless.— F. L. Wright. 



2,150. Frunus Simoni. Have fruited the 

 above two years but am not satisfied that it is 

 profitable fruit. The flowers are very small, 

 but do not seem to be as tender as the Peach, as 

 we had a severe frost when in bloom last spring, 

 yet the fruit set well, the tree is hardy with us 

 but the fruit is not as large neither is the flavor 

 as good as we had reason to expect. The cur- 

 culio troubles it the same as Plums.— F. L. W. 



2.1ie. Grafting the Pecan. The pomologist 

 of the Department of .\griculture (Mr. H. E. 

 Van Deman) advises to cut the cions sometime 

 during the winter, and carefully put them 

 away in a cool cellar, in the ground outside, or 

 in sawdust in an icehouse to keep them back 

 until spring, or such time of the year as the sap 

 starts and growth is well started in the stock. It 

 should be cut off just under the ground, or at 

 the crown if quite small, and a cion six or more 

 inches long inserted. The wound is to be band- 

 aged to hold the parts together, and covered 

 with clay; then earth must be banked up around 

 the cion "nearly to the top to keep it moist. Fse 

 the "tongue graft " on one and two .vcar old 

 stocks.— li. B. 



2,193. Pine Straw as Manure. Certainly this 

 is worth gathering, if it can be done expeditiously 

 or with comparatively little cost, and while the 

 Pine leaves are yet fresh and unleached. Prof. 

 W. B. Burney of South Carolina has recently 

 made a number of analyses of such leaves. He 

 finds that the short-leaved Pine gives a richer 

 one than the long-leaved Pine. An average of 

 analyses shows a ton of the fresh material to 

 have 28 8 pounds of nitrogen, 5.86 pounds of 

 phosphoric acid, and 12.32 pounds of potash, and 

 to have a fertilizing value ef $484, or nearly 

 twice as much as fairly good stable manure. 

 The Pine straw is especially rich in nitrogen. A 

 season's exposure to the weather showed a loss 

 of about one-half its plant foods by leaching. 

 Whenever people have a good opportunity to 

 gather Pine straw scjon after it falls, they should 

 not neglect to take advantage of it. It may be 

 spread upon the land to be manured as fast as 

 gathered. A ton of such material contains about 

 the same quantity of fertilizing ingedients that 

 would result from mixing 300 pounds of cotton 

 seed meal and 100 pounds of kainit; or I.tO pounds 

 nitrate of soda, lUO pounds of kainit and 50 

 pounds of superphospnate.— G. R. 



2,1.52. Pruning Pear Trees. Never prune the 

 short spurs from Pear trees as all fruit is borne 

 upon them. Remove all suckers from body of 

 tree and superfluous branches. This should be 

 done while they are small. Do not remove large 

 limbs from Pear trees unless it is positively 

 necessary. — F. L. Wright. 



2.156. Clinton Grape not Bearing, I think 

 vou have not the Clinton as that variety bears 

 young and very abundantly.— F. L. Wright. 



2,163. Grafting Pears on Quinces- I have been 

 nearly as successful ingrafting Pear on Quince 

 as budding Duchess; Anjou, .Tersey, etc., seem 

 to "take" well.— F. L Wright. 



2,176. Kemedy for Babbits. The following 

 wash for keeping rabbits, sheep and mice away 

 from trees is recommended among others in 

 Prof. L. H. Bailey's " Horticultural Rule Book," 

 viz: Fresh lime, slacked with soft water (old 

 soap suds are best); make the wash the thickness 

 of fence or house wash. For one peck of lime, 

 add while hot half gallon crude carbolic acid, 

 halt gallon gas tar and four pounds of sulphur. 

 Stir well. For summer wash leave gas tar out, 

 and add in place of it, one gallon of soft soap. 

 To keep rabbits and sheep from girdling, wash 

 late in fall, or about the time of frost, asliigh as 

 one can reach. The more popular preventives 

 of rabbit injury are smearing the bodies of trees 

 with sheep's or beef liver, blood and grease, etc. 

 Wirescreen is now also much used. An English 

 paper mentions the following device for the 

 protection of trees : Select a number of stout 

 ■1-toot laths and two pieces of flexible galvanized 

 wire. Take up a lath and six inches from the 

 bottom, pass round it one piece of wire, bringing 

 it round and giving it a twist once or twice. 

 Another piece of wire is p.issed round the upper 

 end of the lath in the same manner. Commence 

 with the centre of the wires, so that the two 

 ends may be of equal length for working round 

 other laths, which should be joined on to the 

 first one till a collar of laths has been formed, 

 loose and flexible, and of sufficient size to fit tbe 

 stem of the tree loosely, leaving plenty of room 

 for the tree to grow. These collars look neat. 

 They do not take long to make and they are 

 lasting and not liable to become displaced. 



2,198. Saving Girlded Trees. This can be 

 done in two ways. The simplest is paring and 

 cleaning the wound, aud covering thickly with 

 fresh cow dung or soft clay, binding it on tightly 

 with a cloth. The other way is by inserting long 

 cions as they will form a sort of connection be- 

 tween the bark above and below the wound. 

 Pare the clous thin at both ends, and insert one 

 under the bark below the girdled spot. Use 

 cloth and graftirfg wax freely.— G. R. 



2096. House-Made Fertilizers. The manufac- 

 turers of mixed fertilizers have to charge for 

 handling, mixing, bagging, freight, etc , and 

 these expenses have to be added to the price of 

 the ready made article. In many, if not the ma- 

 jority of cases, the soil tiller might purchase his 

 plant foods unmixed with considerable saving. 

 It would not even be necessary to mix any of the 

 ingredients, as he can just as well apply them sep- 

 arately. This method would also enable him to 

 apply each kind of plautfood in just the quan- 

 tity thought advisable in each individual case, 

 wliile in the ready mixed fertilizer you must use 

 them in the proportions the manufacturer con- 

 sidered fit to mix them. We can not hope to get 

 phosphonic acid in a good form more; cheaply 

 than in bone meal, or, if we want it as readily 

 available as possible than in dissolved bone-black; 

 or nitrogen more cheaply than in nitrate of soda; 

 nor Potash more cheaply than in muriate of pot- 

 ash (exccrit in cases in the form of woodasnes, 

 cotton seed-luill-ashcs, etc.) Tbe application its- 

 self is a matter ot rather small moment, We can 

 put nitrate of soda and muriate of potash on the 

 land as easily as we could sow Wheat, and bone 

 meal or dissolved bone as easily as plaster, and 

 tbe proportions are as easily regulated. 



