134 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



April, 



^einqMatterTOat Observes 



TO BEVflDCYKHOWtlt 



Old Compost is Good. In 

 ' regard to culture, the, idea 

 tliat evergreens should not 

 be manured has been ex- 

 ploded, but fresh liorse 

 manure is undoubtedly' too 

 hot for the surface roots.— 

 W .C.Strong.Mass.Hm-t.Soc. 

 FlumB Pay. For me, one 

 acre of Plums is worth eight of Corn for my 

 hogs, to say nothing as a paying market cro|). 

 My curculio remedy so far has been to jar the 

 trees every day before the hogs are fed ; they 

 follow and eat all that fall to the ground.— 

 Jacob Faith, Mo. State Hort. Society. 



Thimung Fruit. E. H. Riehl remarked at a 

 western meeting that it is less labor to thin fruit 

 than it is not to thin it, and it is not half the 

 work that man.v imagine. In gathering from 

 overbearing trees for market you will have to 

 pick and handle all the unthinned fruit. It is 

 cheaper to thin and drop it than it is to gather 

 all and then to cull and handle all over again. 



Growing Water Melons The Water Melon 

 requires more space than the Musk Melon, and 

 is more partial to a warmer situation. In general 

 treatment one will do for the other. Many gar- 

 eners start the seeds in hot-beds on pieces of sod 

 or loose woven baskets. Tbis is done in order to 

 move the plants without breaking the roots and 

 causing a check in the growth. — Mo. Boft. Soc. 



Honest Frnit in Honest Measures. At a late 

 meeting of the Pomological Society, at South 

 Haven, Mich., they voted unanimously to use 

 only the full peck basket for Peaches and 

 branded " full peck." It is also proposed to 

 unite with it a trade mark and grower's name on 

 the basket, to establish a home market, with a 

 view eventulla.v to have all fruit sold in Michi- 

 gan. Invitations have been sent to the fruit 

 growers north and south to join with them. 



Peninsula Yellow Peach. This was highly 

 spoken of before the Peninsula Horticultural 

 Society by Mr. Chas. Wright, who says it origin- 

 ated at Salisbury, Md. It blooms late and ripens 

 with Old Mixon, and the buds are very hardy. 

 The Myers Seedling and the Vellow Transparent 

 are two promising new varieties of yellow fruit 

 that will soon be put upon the market. Mr. 

 Wright states that a clay loam soil will produce 

 the largest Peach trees, but a sandy soil gives 

 the highest-colored fruit. 



Evergreens for Iowa. The best and cheapest 

 wind break consists of one row of Norway 

 Spruce and one row of Scotch Pine ; density 

 being secured in the first, and upright rapid 

 growth in the latter. If beauty is also desired, 

 plant two or more rows of White Pine and an 

 inside row of true White Spruce. Black Spruce 

 a much inferior tree, is sometimes substituted 

 for White Spruce by irresponsible dealers. 

 Transplanted trees lH to 24 inches high, are the 

 best. Red Cedar will give quick returns for 

 fence post material.— X Wrayg, loxva Hort. Soc. 



The Leaf Cacti. These include that very pop- 

 ular species often called Night-blooming Cereus 

 (Phyllocactus latifronsl. It also includes the 

 crimson-flowerd P. Ackermanni, the lovely 

 cream.v yellow P crcnatus and the pink I. speci- 

 ogm. All of these are readily propagated from 

 two or three inch cuttings of the leaf-like stems. 

 The Hat stems may be split lengthwise through 

 the centre of the mid-rib. Every piece will pro- 

 duce a good mailing plant in a year's time, if an 

 eye or notch is left on each. Grow in the same 

 manner as the Cerci.—E. S. Miller before the Am. 

 FloriKtK. 



Budded Boses All Bight- President Spooner 

 of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society 

 speaks in favor of budded Koses, if budded in 

 the right place and properly grown. They 

 should be planted so as to have the stock three 

 or four inches beneath the surface, and the bark 

 should be raised a little on each side; you will 

 then get a better plant in one year than in three 

 or four years if they are on their own roots. 

 The Manetti stock is the best for light soils ; the 

 Briar sends up too many suckers. All the best 

 Koses that come to our shows are from budded 

 stocks. He does not want to wait four or five 

 years to get a strong plant. 



Home Market for Fruits, J. C. Gould: If we 

 are to sell our fruit at home we must ha\'e 



enough fruit to get bu.vers to come. It was 

 about three years before we could get them to 

 come to Lawton, but now we find we can do 

 better than to ship it. E. C. Reid : As secretary 

 of the State Horticultural Society, I have 

 numerous inquiries as to where fruit can be 

 bought. The number of buyers coming here is 

 increasing, and, if we work the matter up judi- 

 ciously, the bu.vers will all come and we will get 

 better prices from the direct competition; and 

 it is more satisfactory to sell your fruit at home 

 and get your vaoney. —Dinc^iKsimia Michioan 

 Fndl G lo wcrn. 



Trees for Planting in Towns. On October I.5th 

 the Ash trees were fresh and gieen, whilst the 

 majority of other trees were either leafless or 

 looked seedy. The Ash was late coming into 

 leaf, but its smoke-enduring properties render 

 it a most desirable tree to plant. The Canadian 

 Poplar is another most valuable tree for this 

 kind of planting. The Sycamore retains its 

 foliage to a late period in the season, and in 

 shape is well suited for avenues. Thorns are 

 also good town trees, but are not, perhaps, 

 sufficiently arborescent for an avenue. The 

 Horse Chestnut would be also found a suitable 

 tree for town planting, and several kinds of 

 Willows would succeed well in smoky districts. 

 These are all deciduous trees ; the only ever- 

 greens that could be recommended are the 

 Privet and Box.— Bruce Fimllay before the Man- 

 chester (England) Hort. lmi»'ovement Soc. 



Boots in Drain Tiles. Mr. I. Chase put two- 

 inch tiles in a vineyard, 19 .years before, without 

 causing him any trouble. Mr Varney had been 

 much annoyed by the roots filling his tiles. Mr. 

 Gulle.v said that orchardists in Michigan had 

 been much troubled in the same way. Mr. 

 Woodward had tiles in his orchards ten or twelve 

 years, with no harm. But the roots of the Silver 

 Poplar 60 feet away, found their way to them, 

 and went under the collars and over the joints. 

 Mr. Arnold had found no trouble, but he ex- 

 pected that roots would enter the tile in future 

 Mr. Crowell laid tiles in clay 2U years ago, and 

 had no trouble, the drains working well. Mr. 

 Arnold knew an orchard drained 35 years before 

 in stiff heavy subsoil, the drains still working 

 freely. Mr. Woodward said it would not be ex- 

 pensive to close the joints of pipe-tile with 

 cement and sand, and that would be effectual.— 

 Discntiifions of the W, N. Y. Hort. Soc. 



Bemedy for Blackberry Cane Borer. As soon 

 as the tips of the canes begin to droop cut them 

 off below where girdled. In this way the larva 

 can be destroyed before it has begun to bore 

 into the lower portion of the cane, and thus only 

 the tip of the cane will be lost. When, however, 

 the first indication of the presence of this pest is 

 the dying the entire cane caused by the boring 

 of the larva, the infested canes should be promp- 

 ly cut out and burned. These canes can be 

 readily recognized by the dying of the leaves 

 and by the small holes in them described above. 

 They are most likely to be observed at the time 

 of the Blackberry harvest. It is of the utmost 

 importance that the cutting and burning of 

 these canes should be done promptlj'. For if it 

 be delayed till the autumn the larva will have 

 penetrated the roots and will then be beyond 

 the reach of the pruning shears.— BuWettn Cor- 

 nell University Experiment Station. 



How Far to Set Trees- The distance apart 

 to set Apple trees in an orchard can never be 

 arbitrarily fixed. The difference in soils and 

 treatment is so great that what would pro^e too 

 close in one case, would give plenty of room in 

 another. Trees should never crowd one another 

 in the orchard. Where they do so it is economy 

 to remove some of them. The distance varies 

 from two to four rods— there are some varieties 

 for which two rods apart is far enough. Mr. G ran- 

 ger has a scheme of utilizing the ground while 

 the orchard is growing, by planting between 

 the trees that make up what he calls the perma- 

 nent orchard, varieties that bear early in life— 

 notably the Wagner— to be removed when they 

 crowd themselves or the other trees. In this 

 way he recommends setting the trees not fur- 

 ther than one rod apart. This to be practicable 

 and economical should be followed by good 

 tillage.—^. J. B liraccUn before the West Mich. 

 Hort. Soc. 



Vines for the Home Grounds. Vines, the de- 

 light of rural poets and artists, are inseparable 

 from homes that aim to be models of graceful 

 beauty. Knglish Ivy, although the subject of a 

 humid atmosphere and cool clime, thrives well 

 iu our locality and iseffecti\'C in forming arches. 



covering arbors, and unsightly outbuildings. 

 Over buildings it prefers to do its own training, 

 being supplied with rootlets for attaching itself 

 to walls. Ipomea, just being generallj' intro- 

 duced, needs no commendation but a view of it 

 climbing and twining, blossoming and growing, 

 outdoing .lack's Bean stalk, a miracle of time- 

 making. Ivy Geranium, Boganvilla, Honey- 

 suckle, Australian Pea and Wisteria, are well- 

 behaved, clean vines and thrive marvellously 

 in our soil and climate. The dainty-blossomed 

 Phasiola or Snail Bean, with its long clusters of 

 white and purple snail-like blossoms, sweet as 

 Orange blossoms, is easily grown from cuttings 

 and seeds, and yet few are seen in our gardens. 

 In its native countries, Italy, Spain and South 

 America, it grows into compact hedges, its 

 flowers emitting a sweet odor that is very pleas- 

 ing to those who inhale it. With our modern 

 wire trellises, it is poor gardening to allow vines 

 to cover the house. They collect dust, dead leaves 

 and spiders which are neither tidy nor desirable 

 to allow at our windows and doors.- ilf rs. Flora 

 M. Kimball before the County Hort. Convention 

 at San Diego, Cal. 



Needed Reforms In Growing and 



Marketing Fruits. 



{Extract of Paper by Roland Morrill, read before the 

 West Michigan Fruit Orowers' Society.) 



One of the greatest mistakes made by the 

 majority of us, at the very outset, is our 

 manner of buying nursery stock. There is 

 an everlasting hunt for the cheapest stock; 

 and how often we see farmers who would 

 not plant poor, trashy seed grain at any 

 price, but will hound all the local nursery 

 men for cheap trees, and in the end, prob- 

 ably, some far-away nurseryman will 

 make him the prices he wants and fill his 

 order with stock that a smart commercial 

 grower would not set if he could get a bo- 

 nirs for doing so. 



While it is laudable and honest to buy as cheap- 

 ly as possible, we should not expect to get stock 

 for less than it is worth. Buy only from reliable 

 nurseries and get their very best stock, and pay 

 a fair price for it. By the best stock, I do not 

 mean the largest or oldest, but thrifty young 

 stock; and in the case of small fruit, nothing but 

 thrifty one-year-old plants should be used. 



In the matter of culture, some of our people 

 could make great improvement; in fact, very few 

 of us are good cultivators. We are also very 

 slack in fighting insects and fungi, also in trim- 

 ming and thinning Fruit. 



Mistakes in Packing. After the above de- 

 fects have been remedied, we get down to the 

 very worst features in our business, which are 

 the lack of a standard, either in the package 

 used or the manner of packing the fruit. Per- 

 haps not one third of the farmers of this state 

 who pack their own Apples, use the legal (flour) 

 size of barrel. Let us see how it pays. The 

 Apple crop of 1889 was a large one, probably 

 larger than in an.v other state, and proved to be 

 the financial salvation of Michigan farmers. It 

 was also one of the very best years to learn facts 

 regarding the trade. During that summer and 

 fall, I made it a point to learn as nearl.v as pos- 

 sible what the difference in price was between 

 the full standard barrel and the "snide," in Chi- 

 cago. I found the range of prices for the season 

 to be SI. 25 to $3.50 per barrel, and by inquiring 

 at different times, and of a number of dealei's, I 

 found that the amount of difference in fruit 

 amounted to a little less than one-half a bushel 

 and the difference in the selling price was from 

 50 cents to 75 cents per barrel, or an average of 

 (H) cents per barrel, after paying a slightly in- 

 creased cost on the barrel. Or, in short, the 

 Michigan grower received SI. 20 per bushel for 

 all the extra .Apples rcqviired to pack full stand- 

 ard barrels. And further, it is the large barrel 

 that sells promptly, while the small barrel often 

 suffers loss, in the case of a glut, by rotting 

 down. This makes the difference still larger. 

 The shippers in the city are the largest and best 

 buyers, and they always want a large barrel 

 with ten hoops, and are willing to pay for it. 



The same rule applies to the whole line of 

 small fruits, as the case in common use is sup- 

 posed to hold 1(1 quarts, but in reality holds only 

 14 to 14^ quarts. We frecjucntly hear men state 

 that they do not represent them as quarts, but 

 only as 16 boxes. Suoh statements are unworthy 

 and suspicious, and we would expect the same 

 man to ease his conscience from an.v little dis- 



