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POPULAR GARDENING. 



April, 



The Crocus. 



" Rest little sister," her sisters said- 

 Violet purple, and wlid-rose red— 

 " Rest dear, yet, till the sun comes out, 

 Tin the hedges bud, and the grass blades sprout. 

 We are safe In the kindly earth, and warm- 

 In the upper world there Is sleet and storm. 

 Oh wait for the robin's true, clear note, 

 For the sound of a drifting wing afloat ; 

 For the laughter bright of an April shower 

 To call and wake you sweet Crocus flower. " 

 But brave-heart Crocus said never a word. 

 Nor paused to listen for note of bird. 

 Or laugh of rain-drop ... In rough green vest 

 And golden bonnet, herself she dressed 

 By the light of a glow-worm's friendly spark. 

 And softly crept up the stairway dark. 

 Out through the portal of frozen mold 

 Into the wide world, bleak and cold. 

 But somehow, a sunbeam found the place 

 Where the snow made room for her lifted face. 

 — Madeline S. Bridges in Ladies Home Journal. 



" Spring," sang the poet, " budding Spring." 



Alas ! the boughs were bare : 

 He was himself the one green thing, 



For Ice lay everywhere. 

 " Hail, Spring, with breezes soft and sweet ! " 



The spring returned his hall ; 

 There came a shower of snow and sleet 



Upon a wintry gale. 



—Century. 



Plenty of air is what plants want now. 

 These are house and yard cleaning days. 

 As an insect destroyer in the hot-bed, the toad 

 is ahead. 



April gardening with us is mostly hot-bed 

 gardening. 



A good Idea— to use rubber bands for bunching 

 Asparagus. 



Layering hard-wooded plants may now be pro- 

 ceeded with. 



For Hollyhock plants that will bloom this year, 

 sow seed in the house now. 



The good gardener's test— testing all garden 

 seeds before planting them. 



Fhloz Drummondi varieties usually come true 

 to name when raised from seed. 



Average Crops Unprofiiable. The production 

 of average or poor truit is easily overdone. 



For earth worms slake a pound of fresh lime 

 in two gallons of water, and water the soil occa- 

 sionally With it. 



Bhnbarb stalks contain much water. The ad- 

 vice to use them only alter they have wilted 

 looks reasonable. 



Annnal flowers we want just as early as possi- 

 ble. So we sow the hardy sorts this month it the 

 weather permits. 



Male Asparagus plants produce larger shoots 

 and more of them than female plants, says W. J. 

 Green of the Ohio Station. 



Prompt germination of fine seeds planted in 

 boxes or pots is not always sure. Perhaps you 

 may help it along by laying ajpane of glass across 

 the top. 



Many &nit trees, when hopelessly girdled, may 

 be saved by planting a young tree of the same 

 kind close by, cutting top off slanting, and in- 

 serting under the bark above the girdled portion. 



No need of removing every old stump from 

 the door yard. A specimen or two, vine-clad, 

 and with plants growing in holes scooped out of 

 the decayed parts, may add new charms to the 

 premises. 



A National Weed- Somebody in a humor- 

 ous way, speaks in favor of the Ox-eye Daisy for 

 the place of national flower, and proposes to 

 change its objectionable name to the more 

 euphonious title " Silver-Crested Pearl." 



An English beetle trap is shown in annexed 

 figure. The torch light on top attracts the night 

 flyers, and the latter are readily collected in the 

 capacious interior of the trap where sure death 

 by drowning awaits them. We imagine the trap 

 will be especially serviceable in May beetle time. 



The next fruit crop is certain to be in good 

 demand, and to bring satisfactory prices. It 

 would be unwise to neglect any precaution 

 which might be necessary to insure a good yield 

 of good fruit. Preparations for warding ofE the 

 attacks of insects and fungi should be made in 

 good time. 



Jean Sisley. The noted horticulturist, Jean 

 Sisley— a name familiar to every flower lover- 

 died at Lyons.France, on January 15, 1891, aged 

 87 years. His influence in the horticultural 

 world in France was considerable and always 

 beneficial ; the respect and esteem in which he 

 was held was universal. 



The value of greenhouses asasourceot health- 

 giving pleasure, can hardly be overestimated. 

 It is doubtful whether they are not in this res- 

 pect one of the best investments possible. In 

 no other pursuit can a more complete relaxation 

 from the care of business be secured. Build a 

 greenhouse and add years to your Mte.—MamUi. 



Scotch Marigolds, Strains of the well-known 

 French Marigold, have been brought to an ex- 

 traordinary degree of perfection, and have be- 

 come quite distinct from the type. The old 

 imperfect markings have disappeared, and the 

 bloom now presents much the appearance of a 

 striped Carnation, being evenly striped dark- 

 brown over gold from the centre to the edge of 

 the bloom. 



Nature's method of restoring fertility to the 

 soil is by surface accumulation, and no material 

 improvement has yet been found on it. The old 

 way of putting manure six or eight inches below 

 the surface is fast going out of fashion. Our 

 aim in applying manuriai substances is to mix 

 them as evenly as possible with the upper three 

 inches of surface soil. Can any one suggest a 

 better way? 



Geranium Zulu is without doubt one of the 

 best bronze Geraniums in cultivation. It is of 

 compact habit, white golden yellow foliage, 

 which has a zone which is bright red on the 

 younger leaves and changes to dark chocolate 

 as they become older. The flowers are single 

 and of a salmon color. It stands hot, dry weather 

 well, and in a light, sunny window is an excel- 

 lent house plant.— C'has. E. Varnell. 



Extent of Viticulture. The special agent of 

 the Census Bureau forthe collection of statistics, 

 reports an area of 400,000 acres under Grape 

 culture, of which three-quarters are now in 

 bearing. California alone has 150,000 acres. The 

 value of vineyards and wine cellars is estimated 

 at $150,000,000. The great bulk of the crop east 

 of California is used for consumption as fruit, 

 while California manufactures most of her crop 

 into wine. 



How to Cook Vegetables is the title of a work 

 by Mrs. S. T. Rorer, principal of the Philadel- 

 phia cooking school and editor of " Table Talk, 

 containing 182 pages 7Hx5 of recipes for the pre- 

 paration of vegetables and fruit, ail of which 

 recipes have been carefully tested by the author, 

 and can scarcely fail to prove satisfactory. 

 Messrs. W. Atlee Burpee & Co,, Philadelphia, 

 Pa., who are the publishers, express the hope 

 that the book *' will increase the consumption of 

 vegetables, and extend the varieties in use." 



Bose Hedges, Whether Rosa rugosa and R. 

 Kamtschatica have ever been tried in any part 

 of this country for the formation of hedges, we 

 are unable to say. In England both of the 

 species grow with rapidity and vigor, develop- 

 ing so thickly close to the ground, "that a single 

 row of seedlings soon forms an impenetrable 

 barrier, while the showy fruit and the beautiful 

 flowers which continue to appear after the fruit 

 has reddened, and the glowing autumn colors of 

 the foliage render such a hedge attractive to the 

 eye for a large part of the year. 



Planting Gladiolus, what a fine flower has 

 been made of the old-fashioned, monotonous 

 Gladiolus by the efforts of skillful propagators 

 and hybridizers! The delicate tints and mark- 

 ings of the new varieties might make a savage 

 enthusiastic. Bulbs may be planted from early 

 spring until July. Cover them three or four 

 inches, and give to each bulb about a foot square 

 of space. They do well on all kinds of soil. Any 

 kind ot manures or concentrated fertilizers may 

 be used in large quantities. The Gladiolus suc- 

 ceeds well in dry weather, but still better when 

 the air and soil are moist. 



City I'eople Gullible Also. " Seeds of the most 

 beautiful plant that grows in the south. At 

 night it emits a beautiful phosphorescent light 



which guides the cowboys of Texas and Mexico 

 along the banks of the Rio Grande." That was 

 the bait with which a stranger caught hundreds 

 of business men in New York City the other day, 

 and with which he succeeded in inducing some 

 of his dupes to hand over as much as 810 00. 

 "Still New Yorkers smile," says the New York 

 World, "when Uncle Abner Hayseed parts with 

 his hard-earned dollars to the son of an old 

 schoolmate whom he meets on the Bowery." 



Spring Budding. Budding can be done in the 

 spring as soon as the sap begins to flow in the 

 stock. Use dormant buds of the last year's 

 growth which are easily procured by cutting 

 them in spring before the buds swell ; putting 

 in some cool place and keeping a little moist 

 until needed. 1 have some nice Pear and Apple 

 trees four to five feet budded last May. I cut 

 off the stock four to six inches above where the 

 bud is inserted. Ten or twelve days after or as 

 soon as the bud begins to grow, I take off the 

 string and cut off just above the bud and the 

 work is done. I prefer this method to grafting, 

 especially in a dry climate like ours.— Franfc 

 Talbert, Colo. 



The Trailing Arbutus. Among the flowers of 

 the wildwood the Epiga^a or Trailing Arbutus, is 

 unsurpassed for beauty and fragrance. Modest 

 and unpretending, it hides its beauty under a 

 covering of forest leaves. But it does not remain 

 long unseen by man's disturbing eye; for its ad- 

 mirers watch and wait for April to come so that 

 they can gather these fragrant and beautiful 

 blossoms. Only these, however, can be coaxed 

 into our homes, the plant refusing to live with 

 our garden favorites. No instance is known, I 

 believe, of the Arbutus being cultivated success- 

 fully. I have tried for years to coax it from its 

 woodland home, but have concluded that it is a 

 winsome and willful beauty, scorning all our 

 offers of love and kindness. If any of your 

 readers have had a different experience, I should 

 Like to know it.— i. H. G. 



Points About Transplanting. I believe in 

 avoiding transplanting vegetables where possi- 

 ble, and prefer to plant enough ground, so there 

 will be no necessity of saving and using the 

 thinnings. Wherever transplanting has to be 

 done, and there is always a necessity for some of 

 this kind of work, it is important that it be done 

 well. According to my experience the firming 

 of the soil may be done much more thoroughly 

 than it is in many instances, with positive benefit 

 to the plant. The plant should be pressed in so 

 as not to be easily pulled, the rule being that a 

 leaf or a twig will break before the plant roots 

 will let go their hold In the soil. Tramping with 

 the whole weight about a plant, such as Toma- 

 toes and other vegetables, will benefit rather 

 than injure. This is also the case in setting trees 

 and shrubs. The soil cannot be too firmly packed 

 by ordinary means. —^.P.Re!d,Ci/mberr(JCo.,2lfc. 



Japanese Maples. The beauty of a group of 

 these trees, the contrast of red, purple, green, 

 gold and pink, can only be compared to the gor- 

 geous hues of autumnal forests. Unlike the 

 forest varieties of Maples which clothe them- 

 selves in their glory with the fall of the year, the 

 A. Polymorphum heralds the spring, appearing 

 in royal raiment with the first kiss of the Sun- 

 god. These trees are great favorites in the 

 Eastern States. They delight in rich loose soil, 

 sheltered from the north wind. This is the worst 

 enemy of the tender foliage, which shrivels up 



AN ENGLISH BEETLE TRAP. 



when exposed to its blasts. At times of sudden 

 heat or strong dry winds, a spraying is of great 

 benefit. They look their best when planted in 

 groups of different sorts. The greatest beauty 

 of the foliage is developed during the spring 

 months ; with the advent of hot dry days, the 

 brilliant tints gradually fade out, and with the 

 cold nights of late fall the once gorgeous leaflets 

 silently drop one by one to give place to the 

 little brown buds wherein slumbers, full of 

 promise for the coming spring, the beauteous 

 foliage of another season.- fl. H. Berger, Cal. 

 Morist and Oardener, 



