I89I. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



199 



Trees from Boot Cattinge. Mr. Barbridge, 

 Mr. Robinson and others, have called attention 

 to the fact that in parts of France, Germany 

 and Bohemia, North Silesia and Russia are many 

 sections where trees have been grown for the 

 past one hundred years, from sprouts or root 

 cuttings. In such places the trees are healthy, 

 long-lived and fruitful. On the other hand, they 

 call attention to the section in which grafting 

 on commercial stocks has been long practiced, 

 where varieties, once thought valuable, seem to 

 be running out, and where disease and attacks 

 of the fungi are each year becoming more gen- 

 eral. 



In such neighborhoods a change to trees grown 

 from root cuttings would not be easy, for the 

 reason that the material for root cuttings is 

 lacking as with us. The inducement for a 

 change of policy is less urgent with us, as the 

 climate is more equable and the orchard troubles 

 are trifling compared with ours. 



It our people can only be convinced that trees 

 grown from root cuttings are best, we can soon 

 have an abundant stock of roots that will bring 

 trees true to name. By the use of short roots 

 and long scions we can cause the Apple, Pear, 

 Cherry, Plum, Prune and Apricot to root from 

 the scion in nursery, and when set in orchard 

 the seedling part can be cut away. At Ames, 

 Iowa, we now have many trees on their own 

 roots and we are now starting trees in this way. 

 The cuttings can be made and treated in the 

 common way adopted with the Blackberry and 

 Red Raspberry; but with the orchard fruits the 

 cuttings should be made four inches long and 

 stuck like othercuttings, but with the top about 

 three fourths of an inch below the earth's sur- 

 face. 



As the available material is yet scare, we are 

 now growing the Cherry, Plum, Rosa rugosa, 

 and other things under glass. In this way we 

 can use short cuttings of smaller size, and secure 

 an even growth with less than one per cent of 

 loss. 



The cuttings are planted thickly in rows in 

 boxes eighteen inches wide, six feet long and 

 five inches deep. Holes are bored in the bottom 

 for drainage. The bottom is covered with a 

 layer of moss, which is covered with about three 

 inches of common garden earth. The cuttings 

 are stuck with the tops even with the surface 

 and tightly packed. An inch of very rich earth 

 is then sifted over the whole surface. 



The boxes are set away in the cellar until the 

 middle of November, when they are set under 

 the sashes not over one foot below the glass. 

 At this date the plants are from one to three 

 inches above the surface, and by the middle of 

 May will run from six inches to a foot in height. 



Prior to the planting in the nursery, the plants 

 are hardened by exposure to the air and scant 

 watering. We put them out after the hurry of 

 spring's work is over, selecting a cloudy day if 

 possible. Our hot-bed for this use is about forty 

 feet in length, is covered with old hot-bed sash 

 and is heated by ho1> water pipes. 



We use for the water heating a very small 

 base-burning conical boiler, made for laundries 

 and parlor conservatories. It consumes very 

 little coal, and has proven ample for heating the 

 bed in the most extreme weather. 



Among the varieties mentioned there are: 

 G loxinia diversif olia, G loxinia gesneroides. Glox- 

 inia glabra {erect stem.s). Gloxinia maculata. 

 Gloxinia multiflora, Gloxinia pallidiflora {pale 

 flower) and Gloxinia speciosa. 



The Gloxinia and its Cultivation. 



{Extract of paper b]i Etnil Kellner, before the Califor- 

 nia State Floral Society.} 



The Gloxinia was named in honor of 

 Benjamin Petrus Gloxin of Oolmar (Alsace) 

 a writer on botanical subjects. It is a genus 

 containing seven species of elegant stove 

 plants, all natives of tropical America. The 

 flowers are variously colored, sometimes 

 rightly belonging to the Genus Sinningia, 

 and most of them derived from Gloxinia 

 speciosa. 



The Gloxinia is propagated by seed, cuttings 

 of the stem and leaves. Cuttings of shoots may 

 be secured from the old bulbs; leaf cuttings, 

 when the plants are ripened. Artiflcial manure 

 and liquid manure is beneficial. The roots 

 should be stored away until spring. The soil to 

 be used should be one part lealf mould, cow dung 

 (well rotted), one part common soil with some 

 sand. Pulverized charcoal mixed with the soil is 

 an antidote against souring of the soil. From 

 the commencement of the growing plants, do 

 not water too much; they want, after a while, 

 plenty of heat and water. Use tepid water. 

 Also take care not to get much water on the 

 leaves ol the plant, otherwise they will rot. 



Gooseberry Growing in Michigan. 



{From Discussions of the Wi'st Michigan Fntit Grow- 

 er's Society.] 



The question was: (.'an Gooseberry grow- 

 ing be made profitable in Michigan ? 



Said Mr. J. G. Ramsdell: The Downing rarely 

 drops its leaf, while Smith does sometimes. 

 Several others, inclu<ling the Industry, are hard- 

 ly worth planting. They mildew badly. Drouth 

 which is most severe on Gooseberries, seems to 

 affect the Downing least of all. This variety 

 seems best for all purposes in this vicinity. 



A. Hamilton: The (iooseberry has been in the 

 past profitable; but now there seems to be a 

 disposition to plant largely, and I fear that it 

 will be overdone. A few years ago Crab apples 

 were in great demand, but now the prices are so 

 low that it does not pay to ship. 



J L. Hopkins: The supply of Gooseberries is 

 very great now, but the demand is so great that if 

 one-half the land on the lake shore were planted 

 to Gooseberries there would be none too many. 

 The Downing is preferred. 



J. C. Gould: I think no fruit except Pears 

 should be picked green. It injures the market, 

 and all fruit is better ripe than green. 



E. C. Reid: As to the Gooseberry, there is a 

 growing liking for the ripe fruit, but green 

 Gooseberries are very nice for sauce and pre- 

 serving, and they can be sent even to the Rocky 

 mountains. I have the Smith Improved, which 

 dropped its leaves somewhat last year, but is a 

 thrifty, strong grower, and fruit which is of 

 excellent quality. 



W A. Taylor: It makes some difference as to 

 the soil on which the Gooseberry is planted. 

 The Houghton does well on light, sandy soil. 

 Downing will sometimes mildew on heavy soil. 



H. Chatfleld: I think California will take lots 

 of our Gooseberries. They cannot raise them 

 there— it is too hot. Colorado will take quanti- 

 ties, and it is one of the best fruits we have for 

 canning or preserving. 



Fruit Rooms and Storage of Fruit. 



{Extract of paper by T. T. Lyon, read before the Ont- 

 tario Fruit Growers' Association.) 



There are two, in some respects, distinct 

 purposes for which fruit retarding arrange- 

 ments are more or less employed. One is 

 for the temporary holding of the earlier and 

 more perishable fruits. These, owing to 

 their very perishable character, can only be 

 retarded for a comparatively short period; 

 and experience had developed the fact that 

 even with the arrest of decay the flavor de- 

 teteriorates more or less rapidly, so that 

 little or nothing is to be gained by more 

 than a very temporary holding of such. 



Storage by Use of Ice. The process with early 

 or long keeping fruits, consists in keeping them 

 in an equable, moderately dry condition, a few 

 degrees above the freezing point. This low tem- 

 perature may be produced by different methods, 

 although it is usually secured by the use of ice, 

 in a r^)om with double walls, ceiling and floor, 

 packed between with dry sawdust or other 

 cheap non-conducting substance, or by the use 

 of what are known as dead air chambers. 



Since the warmer air is always found in upper 

 part of the room, the ice box is placed there; 

 and since the gaseous results of decay are 

 heavier than atmospheric air, the opening,if any, 

 provided for their removal should be placed 

 very near the door of the room. The ice box 

 will necessarily be the coldest object in the room, 

 for which reason the excess of moisture in the 

 air of the room will be condensed upon it, and 

 this will the more readily occur if its surface is 

 of metal. It must therefore be supplied with 

 the means of collecting such condensed mois- 

 ture, together with the drip from the ice, and 

 carrying the same outside the building; the dis- 

 charge pipe should be provided with a trap to 

 prevent the admission of warm air from without. 



Tue fruits to be held should be in as perfect a 

 condition as possible; rather under than over 

 ripe; and may be in mfiderate sized packages or 

 placed directly upon shelves. Bruised or de- 

 cayed fruits should be rigorously excluded. 



Storage Without Ice. The arrangements for 

 the preservation of the longer keeping fruits 



differ from the foregoing mainly in dispensing 

 with the use of ice; and, instead, securing the 

 needful low temperature by employing a system 

 of ventilation, by means of which the outer air 

 may be admitted, when its temperature is low 

 enough for the purpose, excluding it at other 

 times. 



The fruit should be gathered with the utmost 

 care, when not over ripe, all bruised or decayed 

 specimens excluded, and the packages placed at 

 once in the retarding house, the temperature of 

 the same having been already reduced as low as 

 practicable by opening the ventilators during 

 cold and closing them before a rise of the outer 

 temperature. The effect of this will be to avoid 

 the continuance of the ripening process con- 

 sequent upon the comparatively warm weather 

 which so frequently occurs after fruits are 

 gathered, bringing the fruit thus treated down 

 to the final advent of winter, slightly if at all 

 changed from its condition when gathered— an 

 important point gained especially in the more 

 southerly portions of the Apple growing regions 

 of our country. 



The Storage House. A building for this pur- 

 pose may be constructed of cheap material if 

 only the work of packing or insulating be so 

 thoroughly done as to effectively avoid circula- 

 tion of air, save when admitted through the 

 system of ventUafion. 



Admission to the room should be through 

 double doors, and light should be admitted only 

 when needful in conducting operations. 



Fresh air is admitted through a passage from 

 beneath at some central point in the fruit room 

 which should draw its supply from the free out- 

 side atmosphere, and should be susceptible of 

 being easily and tightly closed at pleasure. 

 This passage should extend to near the ceiling, 

 admitting the incoming air only at that point; 

 which will thus displace the warmer air which 

 will have risen to that position. 



Carbonic acid and other products of decay 

 will, if present, occupy the lower portions 

 of the room. To insure the removal of 

 these the i)ipes for the discharge of the outgoing 

 air should start from near the floor, passing up 

 through the attic and above the roof, but with 

 its principal opening at or near the ceiling 

 to be used for the removal of the warmer air, 

 when the temperature is to be reduced. These 

 also should be kept tightly closed, except dur- 

 ing the process of ventilation. 



If both air ducts are opened when the contain- 

 ed air is warmer than the outer atmosphere, the 

 warmer air will pass freely upward and be as 

 freely replaced by the cooler air from the lower 

 duct. This process will continue till the tem- 

 peratures within and without the room are 

 equalized. 



It may. however, become desirable to change 

 the air of the preservatory when the tempera- 

 tures are such that a spontaneous movement of 

 air cannot occur. To provide for such necessity 

 the upper ventilation duct should be of metal- 

 ordinary sheet iron will sufBce—andin the attic 

 a sheet Iron jacket may be placed around it, in 

 which a light fire may be built, the heat of 

 which will at once occasion the drought sought, 

 and the air of the room below be rapidly changed 

 as heretofore described. 



Storing the Fruit. Fruit may be stored in 

 such rooms in common barrels, which may be 

 piled upon one another, when the vacant spaces 

 will be ample tor the circulation of air when 

 needful for the purpose of ventilation or change; 

 or it may be stored in open bins, in which case 

 the bottom should be of slats, with ventilating 

 spaces between, and an open space left for the 

 free passage of air between the bins and the 

 floor, as well as between the bins. In case of 

 small lots, or of specimen fruits, they may be 

 spread or placed in shallow piles, upon shelves or 

 tables, so as to be open to convenient examina- 

 tion when desired. 



A large building of this character wiU be the 

 more easily maintained at the proper tempera- 

 ture, since the greater bulk of air will vary in 

 temperature more slowly in response to the 

 changes without. 



In localities in which the winters are so steadily 

 cold that there is liability of the temperature 

 being reduced to the danger point without the 

 opportunity to avoid it by renewal, the air may 

 be introduced through an underground passage 

 well below the frost line, and a change of air 

 thus safely effected even in the coldest weather. 



Fruit exposed to a dry atmosphere is more or 

 less inclined to shrivel and become tough and 

 leathery, as well as to lose flavor. This is espec- 

 ially true of the Russets. For this reason a moist 



