I89I. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



"5 



mental. For rock-work nothing is prettier than 

 Juniperus Squamata, which, though native of 

 India, is quite hardy. The Savin (/loiijjenis Sa- 

 Mna) is hardy and useful. 



The Ketinosporas are another family of very 

 ornamental small trees, but of doubtful hardi- 

 ness. I, however, think them worthy of a fur- 

 ther trial. They require much moisture when 

 growing. A very curious tree is the Japanese 

 Umbrella Pine. It stands cold well, but mine 

 was a grafted tree, and like all grafted ever- 

 greens did not amount to much. I have found 

 seedlings to always do better than grafted stock. 

 My fine collection of Lilacs grafted on the Privet 

 were all killed in two years by the borers working 

 in the stock. 



Several Birches, the best of which is probably 

 the Weeping Cut-leaved, make good lawn trees. 

 The Aeuminati and Halliiarethe only Magnolias 

 that will survive our winters. 



It is of the utmost importance to prepare the 

 ground well before planting, and to have it well 

 trenched and deeply ploughed, so that the roots 

 can get down deep into the soil. They will then 

 be able to stand summer's drouths and winter's 

 cold much better than if planted in a slip-shod 

 manner. All the tenderer shrubs and plants 

 should be protected during the winter. 



Bacteria and Green Manuring. 



{Extract of paper by Dr. Caldwell before the Western 

 New York Hortieultural Society irt 1H91.) 



The green crop that is plowed under is 

 composed of three chief parts. About four- 

 fitths of it is water, two per cent is com- 

 posed of the ash ingredients, and the rest 

 about a twelfth of the whole mass put un- 

 der the ground is the so-called organic 

 matter. When a green crop is plowed in, 

 nothing contained in the ash part of it is 

 added to the soil that was not there before. 

 But one crop may be longer-rooted than the 

 other, so that it feeds at greater depth in 

 the soil, and if the crop that follows the 

 green manuring is shallow-rooted, feeding 

 mostly near the surface, it is easy to see 

 that the first crop can leave things in a 

 better condition in the soil for the second 

 crop than if it had not gone betore and give 

 up its life for its successor. 



Th6 Organic Matter. In the organic part of 

 the green crop we do make a real addition for 

 something to the soil that was not there before. 

 Nearly all this organic part was derived from 

 the air, and its addition to the soil improves it 

 in many ways. In the first place an exceedingly 

 important part of the soil is its humus. When 

 very abundant this humus gives a very dark 

 almost black color to the soil, but a soil with 

 five or ten per cent of it is very well provided. 

 Such a soil, by reason of its dai'k color, gets 

 warm and ready to receive the seed earlier in 

 the spring than a lighter colored soil does affd it 

 is warmer all through the summer; it holds 

 water tetter than a soil poorer in humus: it 

 helps to keep the plant food in the soil from 

 being washed out from excess of water leaching 

 through ; it is a continual source of carbonic 

 acid coming from its continual decay, and this 

 carbonic acid, it is believed, does much good 

 work m preparing soluble food that is stored up 

 in every fertile soil. A soil with a fair propor- 

 tion of humus is more easily worked than one 

 that is poor in humus. 



Oatheiiug Nitrogen. The most precious plant 

 food in manure is its nitrogen. Some plants 

 can feed upon the free nitrogen of the air. By 

 their decay they leave it in the soil as a part of 

 the humus. Thus, by green manuring, properly 

 managed, we can transfer from the air to the 

 soil a quantity of very valuable plant food, tor 

 which we should have to pay a good, round price 

 if we should go into the tertilizer market and 

 buy it. In making this transfer, we leave the 

 food thus acquired in such a condition that any 

 crop can feed up(»n it. 



LeguminOQS Plants. Clover, Peas, Rye, and 

 Buckwheat may be named as the crops most 

 commonly used for this purpose. Of these, the 

 first one named is the only one by which it is 

 possible to accomplish everything that has been 

 given above as possible of accomplishment by 

 green manuring. Clover belongs to the class of 

 plants that have the power of feeding to a cer- 

 tain extent on the nitrogen of the atmosphere. 

 Further, it produces, if given time enough, a 

 large quantity of vegetable matter to be plowed 



in so that it will make a large addition to the 

 stock of humus of the soil. 



The Pea, like Clover, can get a part of its 

 nitrogen from the air. Sown thickly enough, a 

 heavy crop of vegetation can be plowed in. If 

 we, at the north, could grow the southern Cow 

 Pea, nothing better could be asked tor for a 

 green manuring crop. For the past three years 

 it has been raised without difficulty on the farm 

 of the Massachusetts Experiment Station, the 

 weight of the crop being about ten tons in the 

 last two years, and about seven tons in the first 

 year. At the south it makes an enormous 

 growth, so much so that it is a difficult matter 

 to plow it in. The Pea plant cannot bring up 

 much plant food from the lower layers of the 

 soil and thus help a succeeding crop that is 

 shallow-rooted. But, on the other hand, it can, 

 just as well as the Clover, add to the stock of 

 nitrogen food in the soil. 



But we might ask. Why use Rye or Buckwheat 

 for green manuring} Both are probably 

 shallow-rooted crops, and can bring up little 

 food from the lower layer of soil. 



The third topic is, " How Bacteria Help Ds to 

 Get the Best Material for Green Manuring." 



Bacteria as Helpers. All leguminous plants 

 have on their roots a large number of swellings 

 or tubercles. The abundance of these tubercles 

 is the greater the greater the amount of nitrogen 

 gathei-ed. The cause of the formation of these 

 tubercles are bacteria, which make their first 

 appearance in the root hairs on the root; from 

 these hairs ihey work their way into the tissue 

 of the root and there start a growth of cells 

 that finally results in one of these swellings, and 

 in connection with the formation of these swell- 

 ings the taking up of free nitrogen from the air 

 in the pores of soil goes on. These bacteria or 

 their germs are present in arable soils and the 

 Pea or Lupine will grow in sand entirely free 

 from nitrogen food of any, kind, provided only 

 that there be added to the sand a sufficient 

 quantity of all other constituents of its food 

 and a starter of the bacteria. 



Green \egetable matter is not food for plants. 

 It must first undergo decay. Now another set 

 of bacteria come in here and carry on this work 

 of decay. Other bacteria assisst in the conver- 

 sion of the nitrogen into nitric acid, or.the very 

 important process of nitrification. 



Sesame. For the best results, then, in green 

 manuring, take for your crop some leguminous 

 plant such as Pea, Bean, Vetch, Clover, Lupine, 

 Alsike, or others, and select the one that will 

 give! you the largest quantity of green matter 

 before the middle of August at the latest. 

 Have your soil well drained and fertilize it well 

 with phosphate and potash ( as no nitrogen is 

 needed). Plow the crop in even by the 1st of 

 August if you have the ground well covered 

 with a luxurious growth by that time. Avoid 

 plowing it in deep and, if practicable, loosen up 

 the ground before the cool weather sets in. 

 Just the sort of treatment required for putting 

 in a grain crop. Soon after this crop is turned 

 in the baeteiiawill begin their arduous labors 

 of humufication and nitrification. 



Pruning and Training the Crape 

 In Iowa. 



(Extract of paper by W. O. Willard, before Iowa State 

 Horticultural Society,) 



We will start with the vine, which should 

 be two years old, or a strong one-year plant. 

 The first season it will need but little at- 

 tention except thorough cultivation. In the 

 fall it should be cut back two or three buds, 

 and the vines well protected. 



The second season let two canes grow, which 

 should have the support of a stake or trellis ; 

 these are to be cut back the following fall, the 

 strongest to three feet for a fruit-bearing cane ; 

 the other cane two or three buds. 



The third season train up two canes from the 

 base of the vine for fruit-bearing canes the 

 next fourth season. These should be pinched 

 back at the proper heiglit; tuis will cause them 

 to throw out laterals, which should be cut back 

 two eyes the following tall and the old wood 

 should.be removed. 



The subsequent pruning will be the same, ex- 

 cept that the number of canes can be increased 

 to three or four, according to the strength of 

 the vine. This fall or dormant pruning should 

 be done as soon as the leaves fall, or early in 

 November. 



Jane f mning. June pruning should be done 

 soon after the new growth starts, and consists 



in removing all unnecessary sprouts at the base 

 of the vine, or on the fruit-bearing canee ; this 

 js important, that the strength of the vine may 

 be concentrated in the fruit and the fruit- 

 bearing canes for another year. 



Snmmer Prnning It often happens that some 

 canes or parts of the vine receive an undue por- 

 tion of sap, causing a very strong growth of 

 wood at the expense of other parts of the vine. 

 This should be checked by cutting back, and the 

 fruit-bearing canes should also be controlled in 

 the same way, that the strength of the cane may 

 go to perfecting and maturing the fruit, instead 

 of making unnecessary wood. 



The vines will not make the same growth, and 

 it will take one or two years and possibly longer 

 to bring some of the vines into full bearing. 

 Judicious pruning, thorough cultivation and 

 winter protection are important requisites to 

 successful Grape culture in Iowa, 



Losses in Transplanting. 



[Extract of paper read before the Illinois State 

 Horticultural Society, by Hon. Samuel Edwards.) 



One of the greatest hindrances to more 

 general planting of trees is the fact that a 

 very large per cent of them, set by those 

 not engaged in the business, die. For this 

 there is no more necessity than that live 

 slock should die from being removed from 

 one locality to another. 



The hurried manner in which trees are taken 

 up, the roots being unmercifully mutilated, is 

 often, owing to want of skill in planting and 

 atter-management, a cause of loss. When there 

 are plenty of roots, carelessly crowding them 

 into a hole too small for placing them in proper 

 form, is another. 



Bootless Trees. An account given in an early 

 volume of Downing's Horticulturist, by a Mr. 

 Perkins of Boston, stating his success in plant- 

 ing trees without roots, induced me to try the 

 experiment with some forty dollars' worth of 

 trees, mostly Apple and Pear, which were de- 

 layed en route from EUwanger and Barry. The 

 mercury had been several degrees below zero, 

 and they were received December 18, 1850. 



The roots of course, were dead. They were 

 cut off to the live wood at, or near, the collar of 

 the tree, and the tops planted in damp sand in a 

 moderately warm cellar. At proper time for 

 planting in spring, butts of trees were calloused 

 over, prepatory to sending out roots. Tops 

 were trimmed to bare rods, wounds covered 

 with wax, planted firmly at proper depth and 

 heavily mulched. Every evening bodies of the 

 trees were moistened with a wet cloth. Nearly 

 every tree grew, among them the highly valued 

 and too little known St. Lawrence Apple, prized 

 for fine quality, size and color of fruit pro- 

 ductiveness and hardiness of ti'ee. 



Bestonng Trees. Roots becoming dry in 

 transit is fatal to evergreen, but not always to 

 deciduous trees, which in many instances can be 

 saved by burying the entire tree in moist earth, 

 closely pressed upon it for a few days, when, 

 instead of a shriveled appearance of bark, it will 

 be restored to its original plumpness. 



Puddling roots in clay mortar prevents drying 

 or injury by ireezing, if buried or left well 

 packed in cellar until frost is out. Care should 

 be taken in mixing the puddle to have it of 

 proper consistence— not merely dirty water, or 

 so thick as to have a large surplus adhere to 

 roots. Inthefiist instance it would be of very 

 little, if any benefit. If too thick, it adds, un- 

 necessarily, a large percentage to the freight bill. 



Soiteu Koot. This is sometimes a cause of 

 loss. The fungus is as fatal to Apple as to Pear 

 trees. A coitony appearance is first noticed 

 which is succeeded by warty excrescences and, 

 as the name implies, roots rot and tree dies. 

 Various remedies, as hot water, strong alkaline 

 solutions, have been suggested. The following, 

 I think is better. Put all infected trees on top 

 of a dry brush heap and burn at once. As none 

 of your members buy trees from agents please 

 suggest that each one of them tell neighbors 

 who do, to careluUy inspect bodies and roots of 

 trees, and if found to be affected as described, 

 reluse to accept them. 



Other Uauses of Loss. The neglect to properly 

 pack and firm soil among roots is one of the 

 greatest. Fine dirt should be well packed in by 

 band, and all roots covered several inches with 

 it. Pour on a pail or two of water to wash dirt 

 into all possible cavities. Alter ground settles, 

 flu in again, tramp and pound dirt firmly about 

 roots. 1 have used post rammer often. Leave 



