I04 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



March, 



Let the Fight Against Crape 

 Diseases Begin. 



W. M, MTJNSON, CORNELL TINIVERSITT EXPERIMENT STATION. 



During a visit to the vineyards in the 

 vicinity of Keuka Lake, about the first of 

 October, I was strongly impressed with the 

 manifest advantages derived from judiciotis 

 use of the copper solutions on the vines. 

 The more progressive vineyardists are 

 awakening to the fact that they must fight 

 anthracnose and black rot, or quit the 

 vineyard business. 



At Branchport, Geo. 

 C. Snow showed me 

 a magnificent block of 

 Catawbas, and re- 

 marked : " But for 

 the spraying, I would 

 not have given ten 

 dollars for the crop." 



At Hammondsport 

 was an especially good 

 object lesson. Learn- 

 ing that Mr. Trevor 

 Moore had sprayed 

 his vines, I visited his 

 place and looked very 

 carefully for diseased 

 fruit and foliage. In 

 only one or two in- 

 stances was I able to 

 detect the slightest in- 

 dication of disease. Mr. 

 Moore sprayed three 

 times with Bordeaux 

 mixture; just before, 

 and just after blossom- 

 ing, and 'again about 

 eighteen days later. 

 During the latter part 

 of July, he sprayed 

 again with the ammo- 

 niacal solution of cop- 

 per carbonate (6 oz. 

 copper to 3 qts. ammonia and 50 gal. water). 

 This seems a large amount of extra work 

 to put on a vineyard, but that it pays is 

 evident. In reply to a question, Mr. Moore 

 vmtes: "There is no need of my telling 

 you, it was a grand success, and the loss 

 from disease was too small to count." 



In marked contrast with this vineyard 

 were two others of the same variety (Cataw- 

 ba), and apparently under the .same condi- 

 tions, being by the side of the fruit, and 

 separated from it only by narrow driveway. 

 These vineyards were not sprayed, and per- 

 fectly developed clusters were the exception 

 rather than the rule. The prospect was in- 

 deed discouraging. 



The accompanying photograph of typical 

 clusters from the treated and untreated 

 vineyards teaches an important lesson— a 

 lesson which must be heeded, or Grape 

 growing in Western New York vrill neces- 

 sarily prove a failure. 



and 3.87 per cent., and of phosphoric acid 2.77 

 and 1.92 per cent., respectively. 



The leather shavings would not add appreci- 

 ably to either the potash or phosphoric acid in 

 the ashes. At the present rates of valuation of 

 the constituents of commercial fertilizers this 

 potash would not be worth over Ave cents a 

 pound, and the phosphoric acid, supposing it to 

 be iosoluable, not over two cents." 



Figuring on the basis of the average, of the 

 only two analyses of which we have record, we 

 find that these ashes are worth about $3 a ton, 

 and perhaps less, if much leather waste was used 



Notes from the Popular Gardening 

 Grounds at La Salle, N. Y. 



Tan Bark Ashes. Sometime last autumn we 

 purchased a carload of ashes from a Buffalo 

 tannery. These ashes are the product of the 

 combustion of spent tanbark and leather waste. 

 In orderto apply fertilizing materials judiciously 

 we must know what and how much plant food 

 they contain. Analyses of tanbark ashes have 

 not been made and published very often, con- 

 sequently we are frequently asked about their 

 composition. Prof. G. C. Caldwell of the Chem- 

 ical Department, Cornell University, gave us 

 the following data respecting this subject. 



" Very few analyses of such ashes have been 

 made. One, contributed to the Country Gentle- 

 man by Prof. Johnson in 1851 gives the pee cent, 

 of potash and soda at 2.6, and of phosphoric acid 

 as only traces. How much of the 2.8 per cent. 

 of potash and soda is potash is not stated. Of 

 course the soda has no manurlal value. 



Two analyses were made at the Massachusetts 

 Experiment Station in 1885, giving of potash l.U 



Samples of Catawba Grapes, both unsprayed and sprayed. From Photograph. 



as fuel. The stuff, like all ashes has no nitrogen, 

 and is about equally rich in phosphoric acid and 

 potash. Consequently we have to consider it as 

 a good manure for fruits, and we have used it 

 accordingly as a dressing for our young orchards 

 especially the Peaches. 



Tobacco Dust fob Insects We have tried 

 it, and by no means without good effect. It's 

 true, the stuff of which we purchased a barrel 

 from a New York firm for about 83, is rather 

 coarse, too much so to kill by contact when 

 thrown bj' hand upon dry plants. Still we 

 noticed that the flea beetles did not like to stay 

 long on Cabbage and Cauliflower plants when 

 this dust was freely applied to them. The same 

 observation was made in the Potato field. Still 

 in that shape the Tobacco was by no means an 

 absolute protection. 



As a preventive for the yellow-striped Cucum- 

 ber beetle we put a mixture of Tobacco dust 

 and bone flour, half-and-half, thickly around 

 our Melon, Cucuml)er, Squash and similar plants, 

 and the beetles seemed to keep at a respectful 

 distance. This might have been due to the ap- 

 plication, and it might have not. At any rate 

 we brought our plants through in best possible 

 shape; and we think we can do it again, by 

 keeping the plants well surrounded and covered 

 bv the same mixture, or even by the unmixed 

 Tobacco dust which was also tried with equal 

 success in our patch. 



There can be no doubt that we have an effec- 

 tive insecticide in Tobacco refuse, if we only 

 And the proper way of applying it. The New 

 Jersey Experiment Station appears to have got 

 unto the right track. The application found 

 most effective, is that of a strong decoction in 

 spray form. 



As a stock, the entomologist had prepared a 

 decoction, boiled down so that a pint of liquid 

 contained all that could be gotten out of one 

 pound of stems (or other refuse), and from this 

 stock the liquid preparation was reduced. 



One pint in one gallon of water applied to Po- 

 tatoes badly infected by the flea beetles, checked 

 injury at once, and killed or drove away the 

 beetles. It remained effective as a repellant for 

 several days, until after a heavy rain. The 

 beetles returning again, another application 

 was made, with as good success as before,;and 



the plants were not again troubled. The To- 

 bacco also showed some fertilizing effects. 



The Cauliflowers. The season of 1890, 

 with its superabundance of rainfall in spring 

 and autumn, has been just such as would bring 

 a crop of Cauliflowers to perfection. Wherever 

 they were given a chance, fine heads were pro- 

 duced. We had plenty of them of all kinds, 

 but none finer than a lot of StiowbaU grown by 

 our favorile method of sowing in drills, and 

 thinning to proper distance. We have almost 

 invariably had better success by this method 

 than by the old method of starting plants in 

 frames and transplant- 

 ing to open ground. 



Altogether we could 

 see little difference the 

 past season in the head- 

 ing qualities of the differ- 

 ent kinds on our 

 grounds. We had Snoic- 

 bali, both impoited and 

 American grown seed, 

 and from the stock of 

 different seedsmen, GUt- 

 Edged, Erfurt, Prize 

 EarJiest, Early A labaster, 

 also the following of 

 American-grown seed, 

 Erfurt, Novelty No. 9 and 

 ^merico. Prize Earliest 

 seems to be an especi- 

 ally fine strain of Snow- 

 oall or Erfurt. All these 

 varieties have given us 

 not only good heads in 

 their true season, but in 

 some instances also one 

 or more secondary small- 

 ish heads to the plant in 

 the fall. The abundant 

 rains beginning in latter 

 part of August stimula- 

 ted a new growth, pro- 

 ducing side branches 

 after the center head was 

 cut out, and gave us 

 plenty of smallish, but 

 close and delicate " flow- 

 era " in autumn. As in 

 former seasons, the seed 

 produced near the Pacific coast, has shown not 

 only superior powers of germination, but also 

 to be entirely reliable in all other respects. 



Taste and Tact in Arranging Home 

 and Other Grounds.* 



fifth paper. 



Bristol Co., Mass. 

 Editor Popular Gardening: 



Dear Sir:— I wish very much that you could 

 provide me with a pretty lay-out for my lawn. 

 The grass was destroyed by grubs last summer, 

 and I am ready to take up all the shrubs and 

 flowers and remodel the place. I want a nice 

 yard this time, as there is plenty of space and 

 the present plan looks too prim and stiff. In my 

 sketch, the trees shown to the front of the build- 

 ings are Sugar Maples. Flower beds are indicat- 

 ed by F. PtBonies by P. Shrubs andKosesare 

 scattered along the walks and the drives. Can 

 you help me? 



The plan sent to us, (the upper one) repre- 

 sents a type of many country home grounds 

 in the present day. Here the house stands 

 70 feet back from the highway, the barn 

 nearly the same distance from the house 

 and farther back, both being connected 

 with the highway by straight ap- 

 proaches. Everything looks prim and 

 angular as our correspondent intimates. 

 The question arises, is there any way of 

 arranging the features of such grounds so 

 they shall be more beautiful and in har- 

 mony with the natural principles of land- 

 scape arrangement ? 



A first thing that may be noted is that 

 the arrangement of this place could never 

 have cost much thought or study. 



Is not this true of the plotting of the 

 average home grounds y 



In this case the beautiful Maple trees, for 

 instance, of nature's providing, were simply 

 set in straight lines after a fashion nature 

 never yet suggested for the use of her 



♦Copyright, 1890. Popular uardeninq Publishing Co.- 



