I89I. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



171 



tightly closed around the fruit, and when the 

 latter matures, drops to the ground with it, 

 and protects it from harm for a long time. 



This is quite an interesting feature. The 

 little Tomatoes, or Cherries, whatever we 

 may call them, may he found scattered 

 about under the upright bushes all during 

 the season, and when stewed or preserved 

 make a sauce quite pleasing to most people's 

 taste. The flavor reminds strongly of the 

 Gooseberry. Some persons like even the 

 raw fruit. At one time we were quite fond 

 of it; but it seems that people soon sicken 

 of the sweetish taste. This was our case; 

 and we soon again abandoned the culture of 

 the plant, although volunteers appeared 

 annually in our garden long after we ceased 

 to plant it intentionally. Altogether it Is 

 of easiest culture. The "novelties" that 

 have been introduced under the names of 

 Cape Gooseberry, Barbadoes Gooseberry, 

 etc., are either this same Alkekengi, or 

 belong to the species, Pirid'/inio Cf?«!is or 

 Cape Gooseberry, which does not greatly 

 differ from P. Alkeknnji, and certainly has 

 no greater value. 



The Fruit Exchanges 



Mr. W. F. Bassett informs us that the 

 " Fruit Growers' Union " of Hammonton, 

 N. J., established years ago for the purpose 

 of co-operation in the disposal of fruit crops, 

 as well as in the purchase of implements, 

 and supplies of all kinds, is still in a most 

 flourishing condition, and fulfilling its 

 mission of securing to the producer at least 

 a reasonable share of the profits in fruit 

 growing, of which low prices, unbusiness- 

 like and scattered efforts, middle men, 

 transportation companies, etc. were at one 

 time threatening to deprive them. 



With all the advantages that can be 

 readily secured to the producer by combi- 

 nations such as Fruit Growers' Unions and 

 Fruit Exchanges, it is only to be wondered 

 at why not more of them are established, 

 or if they once have become established, 

 why they so often do not remain longer 

 in successful operation. 



The results, sought by the Fruit Ex- 

 change, says Prof. Bailey in American Gar- 

 den, are simply those which accrue from 

 selling produce at the best time, at the best 

 place and in the best way. It is only put- 

 ting into corporate form, for the good of 

 many, the experience which has been the 

 best for any individual. There is every 

 I'eason to believe that the fruit exchanges 

 must ultimately be the medium through 

 which at least the bulk of the produce of 

 every large fruit-growing region must pass 

 on its way to the consumer. It simply pro- 

 vides for division of labor, and insures a re- 

 turn to the grower, in a business which is 

 constantly becoming more complex, and In 

 which, therefore, the risks are increasing. 

 In discussing the cause of depression of ag- 

 ricultural interest, it is well to remember 

 that lack of business methods on the part of 

 the farmer has contributed a very im- 

 portant share. 



In naming the cause of the failure of 

 . the fruit exchanges themselves, Prof.Balley 

 voices our sentiments exactly. It is " lack 

 of business method, and usually appears as 

 a fear to grasp the problems boldly. Mere 

 agreement rarely accomplishes any good." 



No question is more vital to the fruit 

 grower than the economical and expeditious 

 marketing of his fruit. We shall be pleased 

 to hear from the managers of successful 

 exchanges and fruit growers' unions. 



COMMENTS BY READERS. 



A department to which all are invited to send notes, 

 of ej:pe}-ience and observation concerning topics that 

 J ecently have been treated on in this journal. Many 

 such contributions are welcome monthly. 



OVER-PRODUCTION OP Fri'its. The unusual 

 high price tor Apples last tall induced thousands 

 to plant largely in Apple orchards, and many 



think it was overdone. No fear of that— by the 

 time these trees come into bearing (and not one 

 half ever will) the population will have increased, 

 if all goes well, to consume an immense quantity. 

 Not only this, we can ship north and south, 

 where they cannot giow Apples successfully. 

 With the quick transit of our ocean steamers, 

 and fast freight over railroads, we can send 

 Apples to Europe with a profit. Drying or 

 evaporating will be resorted to more extensively, 

 and the laws protecting the pure Apple vinegar 

 making will use great quantities. Our legisla- 

 tors have put a stop to the abominable stuff sold 

 for vinegar in this state at a price no farmer 

 could compete with. A merchant in our place 

 would not buy vinegar of me as he said the 

 price was too high. Bought his in St. Louis, but 

 all the same, his wife buys vinegar ot me for 

 her own use. This adulterating the lu.\uries 

 and necessities is a most damnable practice, and 

 should receive the consideration of every legis- 

 lator in the land. It has entered into almost 

 every article of household use. But so long as 

 an indulgent people will submit tamely to it, 

 and the laws are not made to check it, it will go 

 on.— S. Miller, Mo. 



Strawberries after Strawberries. I agree 

 with the writer in a recent number of Popular 

 Gardening who says it does not pay to cultivate 

 Strawberries twice on the same soil. Last year 

 part of our fruiting bed was on land that had 

 had Strawberries on it two years ago. Although 

 the plants were given the same culture and fer- 

 tilization they did not bear halt the crop of those 

 on new land right adjoining. The fruit of an 

 old bed is never so firm, fine colored, or regular 

 as that from a new one even if clean cultivation 

 is given. The constant cultivation essential to 

 the growing ot Strawberries brings into exis- 

 tance a new set of weeds not common where 

 ordinary farm crops are grown. Although the 

 soil was free from weeds when winter closed in, 

 they came up last spring so as to nearly choke 

 out the Strawberry plants on the old ground. 

 Narrow-dock, Chickweed, and some others run 

 wild here, but were comparatively unknown in 

 the new ground. While the plants will grow and 

 spread just as well, the fruit is inferior; leading 

 us to suppose that Strawberry fruit takes some- 

 thing out of the soil not readily restored by 

 manures.— I/. J. farmer. 



Does Gardenino Pat? (page 145). In the vicin- 

 ity of large cities the business ot raising veget- 

 ables for market can always be made to pay 

 exceedingly well if properly managed. Grow- 

 ing winter vegetables under glass can often be 

 made especially remunerative, but the grower 

 must understand his business, and exercise due 

 care and skill. City clerks and mechanics, 

 having read in some farm paper or book about 

 the profits that can be made in raising vegetables 

 and about the chai-ms connected with the 

 business, especially its healthfulness, etc., are 

 sometimes induced to give up their legitimate 

 avocation and to invest what little capital they 

 may have, in apiece of land, greenhouses, and 

 the necessary equipments, in the hope of making 

 "gardening pay" them better returns than their 

 old occupation yielded them. Having no ex- 

 perience in the new business, they, of course, 

 make an utter failure of it, and perhaps lose in 

 this undertaking what little money they had 

 saved by their labor in the old business. Few 

 people that began in this way, have ever suc- 

 ceeded. Befoi'e anyone can make gardening pay, 

 he must learn the ways and means bow it is to be 

 done, and I know no better method, to acquire 

 this knowledge, than to hire out to a successful 

 gardener for a year or two, and learn all the 

 "tricks of the trade." We grow some ot the 

 hardier vegetables under glass in an unheated 

 house, and make it pay well. Our house is 

 cheaply constructed; the sides being boarded up 

 (two feet high from the ground) and each side 

 of the roof being formed of two tiers of ordin- 

 ary hot-bed sashes, of which every alternate one 

 can be slid down for ventilation. Width ot 

 house about twenty feet, length about 150 feet. 

 It takes 200 sashes for the roof. The north end 

 is boarded up, and contains the door; the south 

 end is glass. Under this structure, on level 

 ground, we first raise a crop of Spinach, to be 

 marketed February and March, followed by a 

 crop of Lettuce and itadishes, to be marketed in 

 April, and then by a crop ot Cucumbers and 

 Tomatoes to be marketed in June and July. The 

 running of this house involves next to no ex- 

 pense, and it gives us work during a season of 

 the year when we would be idle part of the time. 

 Altogether it is only an annex to our regular 



business, and it pays us well, the proceeds from 

 that season's business in the house amounts to 

 $1395. The Spinach was mostly shipped to New 

 York. Gardening pays us well enough, and if 

 conducted rightly, will pay others.— Chas Eger, 

 Monmouth Co. 



Cultivate More Dahlias. While reading 

 recent articles on the Dahlia, the thought occur- 

 ed to me why do sensible people neglect this, one 

 of the most popular flowers? There are very 

 few people who do not cultivate more or less 

 flowers; but the majority, if they grow any 

 Dahlias at all. have the common red and white 

 ones, which the lover of this beautiful flower 

 would give not garden space. The Dahlia like all 

 other choice flowers needs generous care and 

 treatment, but even when neglected it often be- 

 comes the queen of the garden. It is no more 

 trouble to raise choice flowers than common 

 ones and the same soil will answer for both. My 

 Dahha collection now comprises 45 distinct vari- 

 eties, and my garden room is very limited, but 

 the space I devote to Dahlias is the choicest in 

 the garden Among my choicest varieties are 

 the following: Prof. Fawcett, Goldfinch, Mrs. 

 Stancourt, Oriole, Jewel ot Austerlitz, Floral 

 Park, Jewell, Sapho, Startler, Magnet, Snow- 

 drift, White Dove, Guiding Star, Leila, Lady 

 Allington, Lucy Fawcett, Electric, Margaret 

 Bruant, Fanny Putchase, and others. Many 

 hundred distinct varieties exist and are cata- 

 logued every year but those who are unacquaint- 

 ed with the different habits and colorings of 

 this flower cannot fail to be more than pleased 

 by planting the above named varieties.— ff. C. 

 Townsend, Dutchess Co., N. Y. 



The Trailing Arbutus (page 132). The plant 

 is not one ot the easiest to establish in cultiva- 

 tion, nor is it the most difficult to make live of 

 our American wild flowers. It needs a moist 

 well-drained sandy soil, partly shaded so the sun 

 may reach it only a third or half of the day. 

 The roots of the plant extend to considerable 

 depth, and it is dilKcult to get them all in full- 

 grown specimens. The surest way to succeed 

 with it is to use small plants— seedlings that 

 have not reached the flowering size. Such may 

 be taken up with their roots surrounded with 

 the home soil and in southern Massachusetts we 

 have usually succeeded in making at least four- 

 flf ths of them live. In northern Vermont it is 

 not rare to find the Trailing Arbutus in a peaty 

 soil in swamps among the Arbor Vitic. It is 

 usually hei'e found on little elevations where it 

 has drainage and moisture, and in little openings 

 where the sunshine reaches it. In such localities 

 it blooms much later and I have often found 

 fine specimens in bloom long after it was past 

 flower on higher ground.— J"". H. Borsford, Mo. 

 Botanical Garden, St. Louis. 



Root Pruning for Fruit (page 159). The 

 most striking example of the effectiveness ot 

 root pruning that ever came under m.v notice, 

 was about 15 years ago, when one of two young 

 Talman sweet Apple trees was partially up- 

 rooted by a hurricane towards the end of Jul.v, 

 i-nd remained standing with trunk forming an 

 angle of about 45 degrees with the ground. The 

 root pruning, of course, was rather severe and 

 unceremonious, but the effect was wonderful. 

 The young orchard, while making rapid wood 

 growth had never borne much fruit. The season 

 following the uninjured Talman Sweet bore a lew 

 scattering Apples, like all the rest of the trees 

 in the orchard. The other, on which the wind 

 had operated, was about the only tree in the or- 

 chard that was perfectly loaded with fruit, 

 yielding several barrels of marketable Apples. 

 The next year also gave us a plenty of the 

 same tree's fruit, and for several seasons after- 

 wards its yield was regularly larger than that 

 on the other trees. For several years we have 

 not had a good Apple on either tree, owing to 

 the prevalence of the Apple scab.— TI'm. Norton, 

 Ontario Co., IS. T. 



The Mole Must Go. The consensus of 

 opinion, as expressed by your correspondents, 

 seems to be the mole must go. The greatest 

 difliculty in the matter seems to be the acquies- 

 cence of the mole himself in that opinion. What 

 shall we do to convince him? Some suggestions 

 have been made by correspondents. I fried 

 Rough on Rats. He, (the mole) seems to like it, 

 and grows vigorous on it if I may judge by his 

 rooting performances since receiving it. What 

 shall we do with him ? He is a nuisance. Come 

 on with your best suggestions. Bring out your 

 best traps, and let us wage a war of extermina- 

 tion.— Samuel Morrison. 



