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POPULAR GARDENING. 



March, 



of doiDg it is to tate a small-sized pot full of 

 soot, place it in a three prallon can, addinga small 

 quantity of water and worlj it up to a paste. 

 I think hot water does this best. Then fill up 

 the pot with water, and make this quantity into 

 nine gallons of liquid-manure. Tf this quantity 

 be a little exceeded it would do no harm.— Gar- 

 dening Illustrated. 



Madam Alphens Hardy. This is a strange 

 flower when seen at its best, with its pure white 

 globes of refle.xed petals, each underside of the 

 petal being thickly clothed with minute hairs, 

 velvet like, giving it the name of " Ostrich 

 Plume." It is thought by man.v hard to grow 

 but at a large grower's we saw a house 300 feet 

 long filled with it, a mass of flowers from end to 

 end, containing an enormous numberof flowers, 

 and we saw ©15 per 100 paid for the best flowers. 

 This pays. We were told that it should always 

 be under glass, and not cvposed in summer. 

 They were planted out on the benches like Roses 

 and struck in June.— Prairie Farmer. 



Tobacco for the Lawn, If you have a lawn or 

 a meadow upon which you desire to promote an 

 exceedingly rich growth, try an application of 

 Tobacco stems. The Kentucky Experiment 

 Station used them at the rate of 400 pounds per 

 acre, and obtained an increased yield of Blue 

 grass of 106 per cent., and of Timothy of 65 per 

 cent., as compared with corresponding uoma- 

 nured plats The effect of all nitrogenous fer- 

 tilizers, nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia 

 was also decidedly beneficial, while the use of 

 potash did not seem to have been profitable.- 

 Birmingham Ag. Herald. 



Th<i Codlin Holh It was not starved out by 

 reduced rations of last year; enough Apples 

 were raised in almost every locality to feed 

 enough moths to stock all the fruit the coming 

 season. In some Michigan neighborhoods spray- 

 ing is almost universal, and the moths are 

 becoming coi'respondingly less common. No 

 Apple-grower can afford to neglect to spray the 

 orchards just after the blossoms have all fallen. 

 — New York Tribune. 



Value of Mack. Every owner of a swamp 

 should realize the fact that a ton of the air-dried 

 muck may be worth from t3 to J5 for its fertiliz- 

 ing value, as estimated for its nitrogen alone 

 and as compared with the same element in arti- 

 ficial fertilizers. Those who have used it as a 

 litter in stables have found each ton of it to 

 double the value of the manure. Thus valued, 

 it becomes to the farmer worth precisely as 

 much as the manure.— Practical Farmer. 



Heavy Crops of Grapes. Some rtneyards in 

 parts of Western New York, have yielded as 

 high as nine or ten tons of good marketable 

 Grapes to the acre. Continuous crops of this 

 amount must be exhausting to the vines; the 

 best cultivators and marketers prefer four tons 

 properly thinned, giving fruit of the finest 

 qualit.v, selling at advanced prices, and retain- 

 ing the full vigor of tbe vines year afer year.— 

 Country Gentleman. 



Earthworms in Africa. In Yorubaland the 

 whole surface of the ground for many square 

 miles is covered with worm casts from a quarter 

 of an inch to three inches high. The casts are 

 baked hard by the sun and then, after the rains, 

 ultimately broken into powder rich in plant 

 food, and on this the natives sow their seeds, etc. 

 —American Garden. 



Vegetables are Healthy. I am not a vegeta- 

 rian, nor likely to become one, still I feel con- 

 vinced that if we wish to preserve our bodies in 

 a pure healthy condition, and keep our minds 

 bright and clear, we must introduce vegetables 

 far more largely than we do at present into our 

 everyday bill of fare.- London Ag. Gazette. 



Second Crops of Fmit. I gathered ripe .Jargo- 

 nelle Pears from a second flowering on the 14th 

 of November. A similar circumstance I cannot 

 call to mind. Second Crops of Plums have come 

 under my notice, surpassing in quantity the first 

 crop, and although they did not ripen.— .lournal 

 of Horticulture. 



Chemical Mannres for Apples. M. Nicholas 

 recommends, from the experience of ten years, 

 a fertilizer composed of .\itrate of soda. 7."i parts; 

 Superphosphate of lime, 150 parts; Chloride of 

 Potassium, 75 part9;Gypsum, HOO parts.— Garden- 

 er's Chronicle. 



Laudatory Namn. In a List of Potatoes 

 tested at the Wisconsin Station, four had the 

 name of " Beaut.v," one " Dandy," one " Pride," 

 one " Perfect Gem," one " Favorite," and one 

 " Perfect."— Country Gentleman. 



No Grapes in the West. A Milwaukee paper 

 says that two million, five hundred thousand 

 pounds of Grapes were disposed of in that city 

 last fall. Yes and most of them were grown in 

 the east.— Western Rural. 



Mulch Trees. To Insure a quick and healthy growth 

 in trees mulcli around them with straw, old hay, or 

 trash of auy kind. Such treatment will, in the course 

 of ten years, secure a growth from one tree greater 

 than that of a half dozen of its kind left to their own 

 resoiuees.— Nebraska f'amier. 



Dead Animals for (drapes If there are dead ani- 

 mals or bones lying around, they should be buried 

 near Grape vines. The Grape revels In food of this 

 kind, and If It Is furnished, will grow and produce 

 wonderfully.— Cal. Fruit Grower. 



Cranberries in Wisconsin. There was a large crop 

 of good quality the past year.- New York World. 



Wise Planning is often better than hard work. 



Vegetable Products on the Table. 

 Salsify. Scrape the roots and boil soft. Mash 

 add butter, pepper, salt and an egg. Fry in 

 butter. 



Parsnips in Cream. Pare, cut lengthwise and 

 boil tender. Drain, add pepper, salt, a little 

 butter, and a cupful of cream, boil up and serve. 

 Parsnip Cake. Boil six Parsnips tender, mash 

 and mix in two beaten eggs, two teaspoonfuls 

 flour and salt to taste. Make into cakes and fry 

 in lard. 



Stewed Onions. Stew young Onions until 

 tender, drain, and add a cup of milk, thicken 

 with flour and season with butter, cook five 

 minutes longer. 



Banana Pie. Take two large Bananas, peel 

 and rub them through a colander, add one pint 

 of milk, two heaping teaspoonfuls of sugar, two 

 eggs and a pinch of salt. Bake this in one crust 

 like Pumpkin pie. 



Scalloped Mnshrooms. Cover the bottom of a 

 buttered dish with a layer of pepper and salt, 

 and lay bits of butter over. Put layers of 

 Mushrooms alternately with the bread nntil the 

 dish is full. Cover the top with butter, moisten 

 with cream and bake . 



Scalloped Onions. Roil Onions until tender, 

 then separate them with a spoon or silver fork. 

 Butter a deep dish, place in it a layer of bread 

 crumbs and a layer of Onions alternately, with 

 salt, pepper and a little butter. Pour a little 

 milk over it, and put in the oven to brown. 



Lemon Cnstard Pie. Grate the rind of one 

 Lemon and squeeze the juice on one teacupful 

 of sugar and a tablespoonful of flour, mixed 

 together. Beat to a froth the yolks of three 

 eggs and stir into them one cupful of new milk, 

 then mix in the sugar, flour and juice, and bake 

 in a plate lined with paste —Fruits and How to 

 Use Them. 



Pumpkin Pie. One cupful of cooked Pump- 

 kin, three quarters cupful of sugar, one egg, 

 half a teaspoontul of ginger, one teaspoonful of 

 Cinnamon, a pinch of salt, a little grated Nut- 

 meg if desired, one cupful of milk. This 

 quantity will make two pies of small size or one 

 large which may be baked in a mountain cake 

 tin.— Good Housekeeping. 



Stewed Cabbage. Drain cold Cabbage left 

 from dinner from the pot liquor, and simmer 

 for half an hour in water: when tender, pour off 

 all the water, and stir in tbe pot a lump of butter 

 or clarified drippings ; let it cook gently, then 

 throw in a cup of milk or cream ; thicken it with 

 flour, and season with pepper and salt. Serve 

 with the cream gravy poured over the Cabbage. 

 — tal. Fruit Grower. 



Apple Snow. Stew a dozen large, juicy Apples 

 in just sucienflit water to prevent their scorch- 

 ing ; pass the pulp through a sieve, and stir 

 into it half a cupful of granulated sugar and a 

 teaspoonful of Lemon ; beat to a stiff froth the 

 whites of six eggs ; add the Apples, and beat, 

 adding, in small quantities, two cupfuls of 

 powdered sugar. Pile on a glass dish, and orna- 

 ment with bits of Currant or Raspberry jelly. 



Biced Potatoes. Boil a dozen Potatoes, drain 

 off the water, mash them very smooth, than add 

 half a cup of boiled milk, a large tablespoonful 

 of butter and a scant tablespoonful of salt. 

 Beat tiie Potatoes with a silver fork till they are 

 light and creamy, and pass them as lightly 

 as possible through a hot colander into the 

 dish in which they are to be served. Set them 

 in a hot oven until a delicate brown and serve. 



Potato Boll One cup of cold mashed Pota- 

 toes, one-quarter of a cup of milk and a palat- 

 able seasoning of salt and pepper, a tablespoon- 

 ful of chopped Parsley and two well-beaten 



eggs. Mix thoroughly, take from the fire, beat 

 until light. Put one tablespoonful of butter in 

 a frying-pan, when hot put in the Potatoes, 

 spread evenly over the pan, cook slowly until a 

 golden brown. Roll like omelet and serve 

 smoking hot. 



Apple and Custard. One and a half pounds 

 loaf sugar, one pint water, two pounds Apples, 

 peeled, cored and cut into small pieces, one fresh 

 Lemon, one pint rich milk, three eggs. Vanilla 

 and Nutmeg. Boil the sugar in the water till it 

 is a thick syrup, add the Apples and grated peel 

 and juice of the Lemon and cook to a pulp; 

 turn into a mold and let it stay until the follow- 

 ing day Make a rich custard with the eggs and 

 milk, sweeten and flavor and serve very cold 

 with the Apples. 



HOUSE PLANTS. 



Abutilons for winter flowering, to be grown from 

 cuttings now. 



Airiue should be more carefully attended to as the 

 season advances. 



AchJmenes, to secure a succession of bloom, should 

 be started at Intervals of two or three weeks. 



Amaryllis, to produce perfect flowers.need plenty of 

 sun and light. Weeky applications of weak manure 

 water will also be helpful. 



Beeonias. Strike cuttings for next season's use. 

 The Rex kinds are easily propagated from the older 

 leaves. Cut the main ilbs of a leaf at the joints, then 

 place the leaf flat on Its underside, weight It down 

 with a little sand or soil In a warm, shady place, and 

 roots will soon start and a number of young plants 

 spring up. The latter are then potted off separately. 



Caladinm Esculentum. The little bulblets to be 

 removed from the large ones. Plant In sandy loam, 

 one Inch apart. Firm well and give good drainage. 

 When large enough, put in pots of flve or sLs Inch size. 



Callas. To secure large plants keep all side shoots 

 down, and give plenty of pot room. The soil should be 

 light and rich, and all the time well supplied with 

 water, but also with good drainage. For continued 

 bloom top-dress with fine manure, or apply weak 

 manure water twice a week. 



Canary Bird Flower may be sown this month In 

 pots in heat. 



Cannas may be started from seed, which should first 

 be soaked In water 24 hours . Have the water boiling 

 hot when seeds are first put In . Bulbs to be started 

 should be placed In heat, and then potted off In very 

 rich soil. They can be increased by division, leaving 

 a strong shoot to each part. 



Cyclamens. Seed may be sown now. and plants 

 kept near the glass until warm weather. Shift In 

 light, rich soil, leaving the crown half uncovered. 

 With good treatment the plant will be ready to flower 

 by next January . 



General Management. Insects and dust are the 

 great enendes to be fought persistently now. Sponge 

 off the foliage of plants frequently, using a damp 

 sponge or cloth. Whale-oil soap-suds and Tobacco tea 

 should be used freely for green fly and other pests. 

 Mulch with Tobacco stems. Avoid crowding the plants. 



Oleanders, Pomegranates, etc., to be started into 

 new growth. 



Oxalis needs plenty of sun to flower well. 



Pelargoniums are benefited by occassional doses of 

 liquid manure. 



Primroses of the hardy class may now be started 

 from seed. Shade the young plants from the direct 

 rays of the sun, and aim to have them ready for plan^ 

 Ing out when ground gets warm enough. 



Salvias may be grown from seed or cuttings. Give 

 light, rich soil, plenty of pot room and plenty of water. 



LAWN AND FLOWER GARDEN. 



Annuals of the hardy class, like Mignonette, Lark- 

 spur, Sweet Pea, Clarkla, etc., should be sown In open 

 border just as soon as the ground can be got In order. 



Bulbs, such as Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocus, etc., after 

 middle of this month, should have the winter covering 

 removed and the soil about them thoroughly firmed. 



Cypress Vine. Seed may be sow-n in heat, and the 

 young plants kept in pots until frosts are over, and 

 then set In open ground where well enriched. 



Dahlias can be Increased In same way as Cannas, 

 The best way Is to start them now, and divide later for 

 planting out. 



Evergreens. Specimens to be pruned when needed. 



General Directions. Push out-door work as fast as 

 the season will allow. Roll the lawn as the frost leaves 



