198 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



July, 



;^Cr--^En*<iMWTERThAT Observes 



iS^rx YO BE WIDELY KM QWH* 



Hisaonrl HorticnltoriBts. 

 The next meeting will lie 

 held at Sedalia, beginning 

 on the second Tusday in 

 December. 



The Helon growers of 

 Alabama and Georgia in 

 convention assembled, es- 

 timated that there will be 

 40.000 acres of Melons grown in these two 

 states this year. 



The Lombard Flun, H. H. Pratt, before the 

 Oceana (Mich.) Fruit Growers, advocated no 

 thinning of the Lombard Plum. They will hang 

 on the trees two weeks after they seem to be 

 fully ripe, and then be tit to ship. 



American Fomological Society. The twenty- 

 third session of this association will be held at 

 Washington, D. C , on t he 32d, 3M, 34th and 25th 

 of September of this year. An official program 

 will be issued at an early day.— G. B. Brnckett, 

 Secretary. 



Harvesting Orchard Fruits. In an orchard of 

 any extent a small shanty or packing room 

 should be provided. It will be found convenient 

 for storing the fruit against exposure, as well as 

 shelter for the pickers from a sudden rainfall. 

 In this may be constructed a facing and packing 

 table. — Kansas Hort. Soeiety. 



Bemedy for the Fly Nuisance. It requires, at 

 the shortest possible time, ten days from the time 

 the eggs are laid until the fly matures, so that 

 if all the horse manure is carted to the fields and 

 spread every week or thrown into a vault with a 

 tight cover, the breeding place of the house tiy 

 is destroyed.— TTcster)! iVcM' Yorh Hoii. Suelety. 



Quantity Inimical to Quality. If we tax our 

 vines too much they will not produce well-grown 

 Grapes. They will be immature and lack in 

 sweetness. I want to emphasize the points made 

 that the vines must be cut back and only a few 

 buds left to produce the clusters. In this way 

 we shall get larger ones, riper vines and sweeter 

 fruit.— Geo. T. PawcU, before the New York Far- 

 nieis^ Institute. 



Birds and Fruit. The idea prevails widely, 

 that our more familiar birds do more harm by 

 eating small fruits than they do good by destroy- 

 insects. Some declare that the robin is a " thief 

 and deserves extermination." It is true that a 

 dock of birds will quickly despoil the crop of a 

 single tree of a favorite fi-uit, but the large 

 grower of small fruits who does it for profit, 

 while offering a larger temptation, counts his 

 loss in this way as trifling.— ilfais. Hort. Society. 



Clover as Mulch. Mr. Thayer stated at a recent 

 meeting of the Minnesota State Horticultural 

 Society that green Clover had proven a great 

 blessing with him in raising small fruit. He has 

 forty acres of small fruit and raises thirty acres 

 of Clover as a mulch for it. He cuts the Clover 

 as soon as it is in blossom and puts it around his 

 bushes, about five inches deep. It keeps down 

 weeds, makes a valuable fertilizer, and is a good 

 material to help in protecting the fruit in winter. 



Horticulture at the World's Fair. The Mis- 

 souri State Horticultural Society adopted ihe 

 following resolution: Resolved, That the Mis- 

 souri State Horticultural Society does hereby 

 most earnestly protest against the appointment 

 to the office of Superintendent of the depart- 

 ment of horticulture for the Columbian Exposi- 

 tion of any man who is not a practical horticul- 

 turist of long experience and an organizer of 

 proved ability. Kesolved, That our first choice 

 for that position is Parker Karle, of Illinois. 

 Kesolved, That there is no need of appointing 

 to the place any unfit or second-rate man, while 

 such men as Bunlap, Ragan, Garfield, Furnas 

 or Brackett are to be had. 



Cactus Culture. To bloom well the Cactus re- 

 quires a great deal of sunlight, and in winter a 

 south window, if it is growing; if not, le.ss light 

 and but little water. Cactus should have a sandy 

 soil, say one-third sand. It will stand the hottest 

 sun, yielding flowers of a waxy appearance. We 

 had a night-blooming Cereus last summer that 

 had but one flower which measured si.xteen 

 inches across, of a beautiful white, wax-like ap- 

 pearance. The Cactus is one of the oddest plants 

 in cultivation. Some kinds are best when grafted 

 on some other variety. The Flagelliformis, or 

 Bat-tail, and Crab Cactus when grafted on 

 Columfiuus stock, do better than grown on their 



own roots. The enemies ot the Cactus are the 

 red spider and the mealy bug. Should the mealy 

 bugs become too numerous they will kill the 

 plants. The best remedy is hand picking. The 

 ravages of the red spider are greatest in a hot 

 and dry room. Frequent sprayings with water 

 is a good remedy.— Jirs. Moure, before the Miami 

 Bortieultural Society. 



Hardy Stocks for the Cherry. That we now 

 have varieties of the Cherry from east Europe 

 hardy enough for the north, is beyond all doubt 

 or dispute; but worked on the commercial stocks 

 they are liable to be lost by root killing. It will 

 prove best to grow them from root cuttings; but 

 at present trees on their own roots are scarce, 

 and I believe thai we can profitably use two of 

 our nativespecies. The Wild Red Cherry (P;-uhms 

 Pennsylvaniea) has proven an excellent stock for 

 budding. Trees now several years old have not 

 outgrown the stock, and the union seems perfect. 

 The Dwarf Mountain Cherry {Prumis Pumllta), 

 as seen in its native haunts, does not appear to 

 be well adapted for use as a stock. But we find 

 the seedlings to be upright in habit, and to bud 

 as well as the Mahaleb. The plants can be grown 

 thickly in nursery and set out the succeeding 

 spring in rows for budding, precisely as prac- 

 ticed with Mahaleb. At present I think this will 

 prove the favorite stock for the whole north and 

 extreme northwest for the dwarf varieties of 

 the race which unite perfectly with its wood. — 

 Prof. J. L. Budd, before the Minn. Hort. Society. 



Ladies for Judges. At a recent meeting of the 

 Chicago Florist's Club the question of selecting 

 of judges to award the prizes at the fall exhibi- 

 tion was discussed. The preponderance of 

 opmionwasin favor ot adopting the plan pur- 

 sued last year, namely, the selection of a dozen 

 or more well-known lady buyers of flowers, the 

 names to be suggested by florists who competed. 

 An objection raised to this was that if one ot the 

 ladies, who happened to be specially fond of 

 some particular fiower should find that flower in 

 use, she would be prejudiced in its favor, re- 

 gardless of the merits of the arrangement. But 

 it was admitted that with so large a committee 

 the effect of such personal preferences would be 

 minimized. Another objection was that ladies 

 who belonged to a certain society '"clique" would 

 be biased in their judgement by that of the 

 leader of that particular clique. But this is al- 

 most entirely avoided by making such provision 

 that the ladies may cast their ballots seperately, 

 as they arrive at the hall during a stated length 

 of time, and thus act each on their own individ- 

 ual judgement without meeting the other ladies. 

 One strong point in favor of the lady judges is 

 that they consider their selection a compliment, 

 and at once interest their friends in the show. 

 And their connection with the affair is of de- 

 cided value in an advertising way, for the news- 

 paper boys at once spread themselves when they 

 learn that ladies from the highest social circles 

 are to act as judges. 



Hints from Grand Biver, Mich., Fruit Growers. 



The ideal house for Lettuce and Carnations 

 should be built with permanent glass to the 

 north, one-third pitch, and all framed sashes to 

 the south, ready at a moment's notice to slide 

 off easily. In this way no whitewash would be 

 needed, as an abundance of air could always be 

 had, and the sun's rays would not be too hot 

 through the glass for the north bench. White- 

 washing the glass should be delayed always as 

 long as possible, as the darkness and moisture 

 invites that dreaded enemy, aphis. Sun and air 

 are death to the green fly and life to the plants. 

 Mr. Smith when asked how he kept up the fer- 

 tility of the soil replied that he used ground 

 bone and other fertilizers. Tobacco smoke was 

 used to destroy the green fly, but a decotion of 

 tobacco water was generally used, as it lasted 

 longer than a smoke, and produces better effects. 

 Pyrethrum in water would kill the aphis, but is 

 expensive. Mr. Smith was asked which size glass 

 he preferred and replied that 18x30 was his 

 choice, and some houses he had erected when he 

 began would be pulled down during the coming 

 summer and rebuilt with large panes. It was 

 thought that scale could not be destroyed on 

 plants with Tobacco, and must be picked off, but 

 Mr. Wilde said it Pyrethrum was soaked in 

 alcohol it would kill the scale. L. H. Bailey, 

 of the New York experimental station was au- 

 thority for the above statement. President Gar 

 field said kerosene emulsion would destroj' many 

 insects. Nurserymen used it largely to destroy 

 the black louse on Cherry trees. 



A National Park in Minnesota. The follow- 

 ing resolution was adopted in Minneapolis: Re- 



solved, That the American Association of 

 Nurserymen, recommend and urge our agricul- 

 tural and Horticultural co-operators in every 

 part of the country to take immediate steps for 

 the security ot such reserves of woodlands, not 

 privatel.v entered, wherever it is possibly practi- 

 cal, and that special attention be given to this 

 matter by the people occupying the Kocky 

 Mountain regions to save the native forests there 

 from further vandalism of a.xe and fire: so that 

 their great reservoirs of water may be wisely 

 economized for general atmosphere humidity 

 and for irrigation over and on the Great Plains 

 of the West. Resolved, That such a reserve of 

 the beautiful woodlands in the northern part of 

 Minnesota, not yet entered, to be used at one of 

 the National Parks, in essential to complete the 

 interlocking chain of forests to be stretched 

 over the country, and that such reseJve com- 

 prise at least four or five milUons of the six mil- 

 lions of unoccupied acres, and that said park be 

 located in as long a belt east and west as possible 

 within the Governmental demain, and extend 

 south, where its waters, bj' natural or artificial 

 channels, can help feed the sources of the Missis- 

 sippi river. Resolved, That printed copies of 

 these resolutions be sent to the executive Offi- 

 cers of the Government, of the Forestry Divi- 

 sions and organizations, and to all the Governors 

 and Congressmen of the States, and measures be 

 provided to have them circulated to the people 

 through the principal papers of the country. 



Artificially Colored Flowers. For many years 

 it has been a well known fact that flowers when 

 dipped in certain chemicals would rapidly 

 change colors to such a degree as to be almost 

 unrecognizable as the same variety. M. Fipol, a 

 distinguished savant, recently exhibited to the 

 Scientific Association in Paris the results ob- 

 tained by subjecting flowers to the influence of 

 a mixture of sulphuric ether and ammonia. A 

 quantity of ether is poured into a glass and to 

 this is added a small quantity of liquid ammonia, 

 say one-tenth of the volume. The flowers are 

 then plunged into the fluid and with the most 

 surprising results. Those that are naturally red 

 or violet in color take upon themselves a bright 

 green tint. Flowers, the colors of which are 

 variegated, assume as many different shades; 

 for instance the upper petal of the Sweet Pea 

 would become dark blue, while the lower petals 

 would turn a bright green. White flowers 

 usually assume a yellow color. Red Geraniums 

 turn blue, and red Snap Dragon become brown. 

 Yellow is seemingly the only color which the so- 

 lution does uot effect. The action of the liquid 

 is very rapid and colored spots can be procured 

 upon the flowers by pouring here and there a 

 drop of the solution. Flowers which are many 

 colored are sometimes changed to the most re- 

 markable novelties that it would lie possible to 

 imagine. After the flowers have been subjected 

 to the liquid they should be plunged in pure 

 water, when they will retain their new tints, for 

 several hours, but will gradually assume their 

 natural colors.— Emmy E. Smith, before the Cat. 

 State Floral Soc. 



Influence of Stock on the Life of 

 Trees. 



iKxtract of paper read by Prof. J. L. Budd, be/ore the 

 Minnesota Horticultural Society.) 



It is the popular belief in the parts of Eu- 

 rope where horticulture was old long before 

 America was discovered, that all orchard 

 fruits should be on their own roots or top- 

 worked on indigenous wild stocks. What 

 we know as root grafting has long been 

 known but never practiced. 



Recently the noted author of "Propagation 

 and Improvement of Cultivated Plants," Mr. W. 

 F. Burbrldge, wrote these significant words: 

 "Looking at grafting from all points of view, I 

 am convinced that we should have had better 

 fruit trees, and better and healthier and more 

 prolific varieties In our gardens to-daj", had 

 grafting never been invented." Yet, when com- 

 pared with the general writings of this gifted 

 author, we find that he does not denounce the 

 use of congenial hardy stocks. His sweeping 

 statement was predicated on the fact that in Eu- 

 rope and America certain fruit stocks have come 

 into general use which are not congenial to the 

 varieties worked upon them, such as the use in 

 this country, commercially, of French Crab 

 Apple stocks, tender seedlings grown from scrub 

 Apples taken to the cider mills, French Pear 

 stocks, Myrobalan and St. Julian Plum stocks 

 and Mazzard and Mahaleb Cherrj- stocks. 



