114 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



March, 



fiGHT'V'H^I'SOCIETIES 



»^^ ^o Bt vrwEVf MOV A, 



Indiana Horticaltarista. 

 At the :30th Annual Meet- 

 ing o£ the State Society 

 the following officers were 

 elected for the year, viz.: 

 E. J. Howland, Howland, 

 President; W. H. Reagan, 

 Greencastle, Secretary; W. 

 A. Workman, Greencastle, 

 Treasurer. The meeting was well attended. 



Horticaltnre in MUsonri. Secretary L. A. 

 Goodman reports that more capital, greater 

 care, better culture, and more skill is now being 

 thrown into the profession of horticulture than 

 ever before. The old officers were re-elected. 

 The place selected for the next annual meeting 

 is Sedalia. 



The Yellow Transparent Apple. The reports 

 concerning it are that it is hardy, productive, 

 and more free from scab than the other early 

 Apples. Several kinds have been sent out under 

 this name, however, and confusion is likely to 

 arise when trees come to bearing. —T. T. Lyon, 

 'before the West MicJi. Bon. Soc. 



Peach Tree Borer. The best remedy is a solu- 

 tion made of soft soap and carbolic acid dissolved 

 in water, with which wash the trees. One gallon 

 of soft soap and one halt pint of crude carbolic 

 acid, dissolved in two gallons of water, is the 

 formula. The egg is usually deposited near the 

 ground. A newspaper wrapped about the tree 

 is also a preventative, but the wash is the most 

 effective.— Dr. hlntner before Ulster Co. Farmers' 

 Institute. 



Soap Snda Good for Trees. Nevertheless. 

 Sylvester Johnson said he thought whitewash 

 was good for fruit trees. E. Y. Teas thought it 

 was a great shame to use whitewash on trees; 

 that it was unsightly; the trees were injured by 

 having the pores ot the wood stopped up ; soap- 

 suds were better. In the interchange of opinion 

 that followed, a preponderance of sentiment 

 was in favor of whitewash.— />i«c«s8ionsind«ina 

 State Bort. Soc. 



Treatment of Window Plants. Do not crowd 

 them. One handsome plant is worth a dozen 

 crowded into the space one should occupy. 

 Never turn your plants, if you want them to be 

 strong and nice looking, and never move from 

 one window to another. Do not wash them to 

 death. Do not make the mistake so many 

 amateurs make, of putting in too large pots. 

 Give them, as nearly as you can, their natural 

 condition, and let them alone.— 2/li»fiis Hoi-t Soc. 



A Profitable Cherry Tree. R. Hector in a 

 paper read before the Fruit Grower's Meeting at 

 .Santa Cruz, Cal., stated that his Black Tartarian 

 Cherry tree in Placer county, of same state, had 

 during the past five years brought him a gross 

 return of SI 800. Last year it produced 300 ten 

 pound boxes. The average return during the 

 last five years has been $1 50 a box. The tree is 

 now 35 years old and BO feet high. The trunk, 

 six feet above the ground, measures over ten 

 feet around, or more than three feet through. 



Spraying Orchard Trees. Absolute directions 

 as to time of spraying can not be given ; might 

 as well think of date for planting Com. Every 

 grower must decide, from general principles, 

 when to begin, how long to continue, and often 

 to make the applications. With Apples, for ex- 

 ample, the young fruit needs to be kept coated 

 with a aim of poison for at least three weeks 

 from the time the fruit sets. Fallen fruit should 

 be destroyed In one way or another— if not by 

 hogs or sheep, by removal and destruction else- 

 where.— JVew Jersey Bnrt. Soc. 



Illinois Horticnltnriats. A Society was or- 

 ganized in December, 1H!X) at Cairo, under the 

 name "Southern Illinois Horticultural Society." 

 The lively Alton Southern-Illinois Horticultural 

 Society by resolution adopted at a recent meet- 

 ing, has graciously surrendered to the other all 

 its claim, right or title to representation on the 

 executive board of the State Horticultural So- 

 ciety, and will hereafter be known as the "Alton 

 Horticultural Society," The following are the 

 newly elected officers, .Tames Starr, president ; 

 Wm. Davis, Secretary; F. ,T. Crowe Treasurer- 

 all of Alton, Ills. 



Chrysanthemnm Shows Snocessfnl in England. 

 At the show held in Edinburh under the auspices 

 of the Scottish Horticultural Association, the 



receipts were £1,190 7s. 8d., and the expenditure 

 £1,062 Is. 6d., leaving a balance of about £130 to 

 be added to' the substantial surplus from the 

 centenary exhibition of last year. At Brighton 

 the results were equally satisfactory, tor the 

 takings at the doors while the exhibition was 

 open, amounted to £324, the number ot those 

 who paid for admission being 9,494. The number 

 of visitors to the exhibition held at Hull ex- 

 ceeded that of any previous year. 



Pear Growing. Pears can be grown as cheap 

 as Apples. They are not as much trouble and 

 bear sooner. It does not cost as much now to 

 plant Pears as it used to when we had to pay 75 

 cents per tree. With me the Seckle never 

 blighted as long as I plowed to the trees, but as 

 soon as I began plowing away from the trees, as I 

 had to do after few a years, they began to blight. 

 I have found it necessary to thin out the centers 

 of the Seckle, as it grows so very bushy that the 

 Pears in the centre are too small. Sheldon has 

 been profitable. Duchess is best as a dwarf.— J. 

 M. Pearson before the Alton {Ills.) Bort. Soc. 



Growing Celery. Manure a piece of ground 

 heavily with stable manure, set the plants in 

 slight trenches four feet apart, earth it up as 

 much as you can while it is growing, and finish 

 blanching with boards. Leave it right there for 

 winter, covering with boards and stable manure 

 and digging out as wanted, throwing the manure 

 into the adjoining spaces and setting the plants 

 there the next year. To keep Celery in the 

 cellar, bore holes four inches above the bottom 

 of 1 barrel, put an in inch or two of earth, pack 

 in the Celery tightly and pour in water until it 

 runs out of the holes ; and add water as needed 

 afterward, but do not throw it over the stalks.— 

 ir. W. Tracy. 



Points in Pruning Grapes. The following laws 

 and principles we should understand, namely: 

 First. The fruit-bearing canes of this season 

 are produced only from buds on last year's 

 canes, hence the wood must be removed annually. 

 Second. The tendency of the sap is to flow to 

 the buds at the extremity of the vine, if up- 

 right; a horizontal position tends to check the 

 flow of sap. and to the maturing ot the wood and 

 the perfecting of the fruit buds. We therefore 

 find the laterals with shorter joints and better 

 developed fruit buds. Third. The foliage re- 

 quires the heat and light ot the sun, and a free 

 circulation of air around and through it, and it 

 should cover and protect the fruit.— IT. O. ITU- 

 lard, before the Iowa State Bort. Soc. 



Locust and Catalpa. During the discussions 

 of the Ohio .State Horticultural Society, Prof. 

 Lazenby said that in twelve years on the Ohio 

 university grounds the Locust had made the 

 tallest growth, being 25 feet high while the Ca- 

 talpa was only 20 feet, but the Locust was being 

 injured seriously by the borer, tor which there 

 was no known remedy. The Catalpa branched 

 low and would not bear crowding, two objec- 

 tions to it as a timber tree. N. H. Albaugh said 

 that a considerable area had been planted to 

 Catalpa in Montgomery and Miami counties. 

 The best results had been obtained by cutting 

 back to the ground, the second year, when a 

 straight shoot would spring up making eight or 

 ten feet of growth in one season. He referred 

 to an acre that was planted six years ago and the 

 trees are now large enough for fence posts. The 

 Locust sprouted or suckered badly and scattered 

 their seeds to the four winds. In arable farm- 

 ing counties people liked to have their forests 

 in one field. 



Enemies of Hot-house Grapes. The msects 

 which attack the shoots and foliage are red 

 spider (rc(ra?iyc)n<.s(e(ara(f.) and thrips {Thrips 

 minutimima). The latter is rarer than the form- 

 er, and its presence is often due to the mtroduc- 

 tion of such plants as Azaleas, Abutilons, etc., 

 into the vinery. When once ertablished, it is 

 difficult to get rid of, and its ravages must be 

 combatted by much sponging with soft soap and 

 tobacco. The mealy-bug tDactylophw ailoni- 

 dum) it once established becomes a frightful 

 pest. It is often imported in spring by ants, and 

 unless seen to then the gardener wi I have to 

 cope with a mass of woolly filth later on. The 

 vine scale is another enemy, but a brush filled 

 with strong insecticide will soon dispatch it. 

 Among miscellaneous enemies of the Vine are 

 scorching, sunstroke, spot upon the berries, 

 cracking, rust, and worst of all, "shanking." 

 The latter, especially, with some consider to be 

 due to a local disease ot the foot-stalk and 

 others the lack of nourishment, seems at present 

 to be a malady little understood.— i. D. Black- 

 more before the Royal Society. England. 



Tree Planting in Towns. Cheap processes of 

 planting in any situation prove of no use, and 

 especially is this the case with trees in towns. 

 Have the soil well trenched, and at least four 

 cart-loads of suitable soil placed round the roots. 

 The larger the hole filled with the soil the better. 

 Provision should be made for a succession, other- 

 wise the trees grow until the roots find their 

 way through the prepared ground, and touch 

 the uncongenial soil, when they begin to decline. 

 Many young trees are killed by too deep plant- 

 ing. When the trees or shrubs are being planted, 

 their branches should always be pretty well 

 thinned. The time of planting must depend 

 upon the fall of the leaf. Give the roots a few 

 thorough waterings in the spring, before in fact, 

 there had been time for any impression to be 

 made upon the system of plants by the parching 

 summer heat, and before the trees had lost en- 

 tirely the strength they had accumulated during 

 their winter's rest. The ground towards the 

 circumference ot the area occupied by the roots 

 should be pierced so as to facilitate the absorp- 

 tion of the water. With a hose attached to a 

 supply pipe from the mains, these waterings are 

 readily effected.- Bruce Findly, before the Man- 

 chester [England] Bort . Improvement Society. 



Good Fruits for Central New York. During 

 the discussions at a recent Farmers' Irstitute, 

 Mr. Powell recommended the following Apples, 

 viz: Red Astrachan, Gravenstein, R. L Green- 

 ing, Northern Spy, Sweet Bough, Baldwin as the 

 best for market purposes. Do not plant too 

 many varieties. Pound Sweet and Winter Sweet 

 or Pomeroy are the best winter Sweet Apples. 

 Experiments will determine the varieties best to 

 plant with you. The three best early varieties 

 of Grapes will be hard to name, he said. The 

 Concord yet stands at the head of our native 

 Grapes for shipment, but I regard the Worden 

 as preferable. More's Early is a good Grape, but 

 somet mes cracks. Yet, I would name it and 

 Worden, as black In some portions of the State 

 Niagara is succeeding admirably, but it does not 

 succeed in all localities. More's Diamond and 

 Green Mountain are promising new varieties, 

 and, so far, are succeeding well. If they resist 

 the fungo d diseases as well as does Worden, 

 they will be excellent varieties to plant Of the 

 red ones plant Delaware, Brighton and Agawam. 

 For care only, determine the question by experi- 

 ment. In some sections the Brighton rots and 

 mildews. It may not succeed with you. Wher- 

 ever it does succeed it is found to be one of the 

 best red Grapes. 



Hardy Trees and Shrubs for the 

 Lawn. 

 (Extract of paper read by James Goldie, before the 

 Ontario Fruit Growers' AssoeiatioH-) 



Although I have had many tailnres with 

 Conifers, still there are many b.trdy varieties 

 well worthy of cultivation. Often Norway 

 Spruce or large Pines are planted in small 

 yards. These soon have to be trimmed in a 

 way to spoil all their natural beauty. In 

 small yards plant only such as will never 

 have to be disfigured by close pruning, as 

 tor instance the Arbor Vit«, Lilac and 

 Dwarf Conifers. 



We have in Canada a lack of broad-leaved ever. 

 greens like the Rhododendrons and the Laurel. 

 They are not adapted to our severe winters, and 

 limestone soil. Of two thousand Rhododendrons 

 that I planted hardly a dozen are living. Our 

 only shrub with anything like broad leaves is 

 the Holly-leaved Barberry. This makes a pretty 

 bed, but must be in the shade, as it burns badly 

 if exposed to the sun during the winter. It does 

 best in a moist, sandy soil. 



One of our most handsome evergreens foreither 

 single planting or in beds, is the native Yew, 

 commonly known as "Ground Hemlock." It 

 thrives best in a moist, shady situation. My 

 finest lawn shrub is the Colordo Blue Spruce. It 

 is the most ornamental of the Conifers and per- 

 fectly hardy. Pices Concolor is a fine hardy 

 species whose only drawback is its early growth 

 in spring, as the late frosts often cut it off. Pinus 

 Cembra is ot compact growth, and something 

 after the common White Pine. Pinus Murgho 

 and Pinus Pumilio arc dwarfs suitable for small 

 grounds and rockeries. Dwarf varieties of the 

 Norway Spruce are very pleasing, as they are 

 compact and grow but a little over one foot high. 



Some members of the Juniper family are very 

 useful. Nothing on my grounds pleases me more 

 than the Red Cedar. When planted singly and 

 branched to the ground, they are highly orna- 



