iSpi. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



203 



LAWN AND FLOWER GARDEN. 



Annuals. Real tine plants and fine bloom cannot be 

 had when plants are too thick. Pay proper attention 

 to thinning, and be thorough and prompt In this mat- 

 ter, otherwise a weedy appearance wlU be the result. 



Asters require plenty of food and moisture, but 

 when this is given they are among the ftnest of an- 

 nuals. A mulch Is always a good thing for them. 

 Otherwise give frequent doses of liquid manure. 



Balsams often produce a superabundance of young 

 shoots. The removal of part of them usually Improves 

 the appearanre of the plant. 



Cannas and Oalceolarias to be forced Into vigorous 

 growth, by frequent doses of liquid manure poured 

 Into a sort of basin formed around the plant. 



Oarpet beds need plenty of water. Give a good 

 soaking once a week. Remove useless flowers, dying 

 leaves, etc. 



Climbing plants, now growing rapidly, are depend- 

 ent on support, and this should not be withheld at this 

 time. 



Dahlias, G-ladiolns, etc., to be glveu neat stakes for 

 support. 



Lawn . In a dry spell, as often happens In July, the 

 lawn should not be cut too close nor too often. Weeds 

 however, must not be allowed to ripen seed, and for 

 fear that some may be ripe enough, the mowings 

 should be raked up and removed from the lawn. 



Mignonette to be sowed In open air or In cold frame 

 for late blooming. 



Pansy seed to be sown for early spring flowers. 



Phloxes need a deep, rich soli. They will live and 

 bloom, too, in light, poor material; but they will never 

 fully develop their gorgeous flower spikes under such 

 circumstances. When a whole bed or border cannot 

 be deeply dug and heavily manured for them, a small 

 spot to be occupied by each plant should be treated In 

 this way. In hot, dry weather a thorough soaking of 

 manure-water, if available. Is highly beneficial, and In 

 all cases, wherever possible, mulch over the surface of 

 the soil with some half -decayed stable manure. 



Propagation. Of hardy perennials that ripen seed 

 this month; this seed may be sown as' soon as ripe. Most 

 fine shrubs and plants can easily be increased by lay- 

 ering. Make a depression In the ground on one side of 

 the plant, and bend a vigorous shoot down Into It. 

 This latter should have a notch cut out from the top, 

 one-third of the way through at the lowest point of the 

 bend. Cover the shoot finely with mellow soil, when 

 good roots will usually develop In two months. 



Rhododendrons. Remove all seed pods. 



Roses. Remove bad flowers, and keep down strong 

 growing shoots. 



Staking. With strong-growing, top-heavy plants, 

 like Gladiolus, Dahlias, and others, staking and tying 

 must not be neglected, or heavy winds may cause 

 much loss. Large Geraniums, Hydrangeas, etc., will 

 also be much better ofl: if properly staked. Let the 

 stakes for bushy plants be low enough to remain 

 altogether out of sight. 



Sweet Williams. Sow seed for plants to bloom next 

 year. 



Variegated Growths. Remove shoots that show a 

 reversion to the common type or foliage. 



Walks to be kept strictly clean of weeds and rubbish 

 as the beauty of the grounds would be greatly marred 

 by inattention to this. Roll after heavy rains, and 

 sprinkle In dry weather to lay the dust. 



Weeds should always die young; the flower borders 

 are no place for them. Keep the surface of the beds 

 well stirred, and there will be little trouble from this! 



PLANT CULTURE UNDER GLASS. 



Camellias to be kept cool by shading, sprinkling and 

 free airing. Water regularly, and syringe the plants 

 not less than three times a week. 



Chrysanthemums in pots should now have their 

 final shift. The best plan, for the purpose of giving 

 the roots the desirable even temperature and moisture, 

 is to plunge the pots in ashes, sprinkle often from 

 overhead. 



Calceolaria and Cineraria seedlings should be 

 pricked out as soon as large enough to be handled, Into 

 pots or pans. Place in frames under shaded glass, 

 and give air and water as needed. 



Cyclamens. Seed may now be sown for plants to 

 bloom next year. 



Gloxinias require a warm moist situation. Keep 

 well supplied with water, given to the roots not to the 

 foliage. 



Euphorbia. In a warm house keep the heads of 

 plants close to the glass. They can stand considerable 

 crowding. 



Ferns. Small boxes or p ots are best for the Tree 

 Ferns and will keep them in check. 



Mignonette. For winter flowering, seed should be 

 sown early this month in small pots, a few seeds In 

 each. Later on remove all but one strong plant to 

 each pot. 



Orchids need free circulation of air to ripen the 

 spring growth. Water paths and stages in the after- 

 noon, then shut up for the night. 



Repairs and Requisites. Now is a good time to re- 

 pair and clean plant houses. Broken Ughts should be 



replaced, tmd the brick and wood work be given a 

 thorough scrubbing. Mend where mending Is needed, 

 and make improvements where such are intended. In 

 short get, everything in readlnesa for restocking later. 



Polnsettias. If large heads are wanted, keep the 

 young plants In heat, and always near the glass. 



Repotting to be promptly seen to where needed, as 

 most lUcely the case with Heliotrope, Begonias, Sweet 

 Alyssum. etc. 



Roses Intended for winter flo wering.and now bedded 

 out under glass, should not be given more water than 

 needed to keep the soil from drying out entirely. Rest 

 Is absolutely needed for best results. 



FRUIT GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



Apples. Thin fruit In overloaded trees. 



Blackberries. The new wood to be pinched back at 

 about three and a half feet from the ground. Fruit 

 for market to be picked into clean baskets and crates. 



Currants on suitable soil, If well taken care of, are 

 always a profitable crop; but the reverse If neglected. 

 Hellebore, bubach or the kerosene emulsion sprayed 

 onthevlneswillspeedlly clear them of green worm. 



Grapes. If there Is an excessive load of fruit for the 

 growth of the wood, thin by removing the poorest 

 clusters first, and If that is not enough, take some of 

 the good ones too. Judicious thinning always pays. 

 Tie the voung shoots to the trellis as needed. Con- 

 tinue spraying for mildew and rot. Latter part of the 

 month we would substitute the ammoniacal solution 

 of copper carbonate for the Bordeaux mixture. 



Gooseberries of the foreign sorts to be sprayed with 

 solution of liver of sulphur for mildew, as explained 

 elsewhere. Otherwise treat like Currauts. 



Peaches, Plnms. etc., will need a severe thinning. If 

 nice, large, round fruit Is desired. Most of the trees 

 this year are overloaded. 



Pruning Trees. Fruit trees have made a wonderful 

 growth this season, and are likely to keep it for some 

 time yet. It would not be wise to be too free with the 

 knife just now. Fruit buds wlU probably form on the 

 wood already made. If we cut them off now, we force 

 a new weak growth that will not perfect fruit buds. 

 About the only thing now permlssable Is the removal 

 of branches growing where not desired. 



Fears. Proper thinning of the fruit Is now in order. 

 Blighted limbs should be promptly cut away a foot or 

 more below the blighted part, and at once destroyed 

 by fire. Leaf blight or cracking of the Pear can prob- 

 ably be prevented by timely and persistent spraying 

 with the Bordeaux mixture. 



Strawberries. The best thing that usually can be 

 done with the old patch after fruiting is to plow it up, 

 and plant Cabbage, Turnips, Potatoes or Celery on It 

 This makes clean work of It But if an old plantation 

 is to be retained, for any reason, we would go over It 

 with a mowing machine or scythe after the fiult Is all 

 picked, and set fire to the mowed stuff after giving It 

 a good chance to dry. Then plow furrows, leaviug 

 only narrow rows of plants the proper distance apart. 

 A young plantation will usually give better satisfac- 

 tion, however. Keep the cultivator moving, and the 

 patch free from weeds. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN. 



Asparagus. No more stalks should be cut after this 

 date. 



Beans- The early bush sorts to be sown for suc- 

 cession. Keep the Llmas well hoed and If of the run- 

 ning varieties, well tied to poles or trellis. 



Cabbages. Plants, especially of the medium-early 

 sorts, like Wlnningstadt, Early Summer, Early Bruns- 

 wick, etc., may yet Vie set for late use, make the ground 

 rich, using good compost or else liberal quantities of 

 concentrated fertilizers, and cultivate and hoe fre- 

 quently. The Cabbage worm is easily kept in check 

 by syraylng with bubach In water, or with the kero- 

 sene emulsion. 



Cauliflowers are treated similar to Cabbages. Have 

 the ground rich, and keep well cultivated. 



Carrots to be cultivated until ground Is covered, 

 the few weeds appearing afterwards to be pulled up. 



Celery. With good plants on hand, and well-pre- 

 pared, well-enriched soil, planting for late fall and 

 winter use can be done as late as latter part of month. 

 Moist weather, warm days and cool nights are a com- 

 bination that suits Celery flrst-rate. Have rows four 

 or five feet apart and set plants six inches apart in the 

 row. Keep ground well stirred. 



Cucumbers. Plant to provide for late pickles. 



Lettnce. The beds to be cleared and planted with 

 other stuff when crop is out of prime. Poultry will like 

 the old plants now beginning to go to seed. 



Melons to be kept well hoed, drawing soil towards 

 the plants. 



Radishes. Sow the summer sorts for succession and 

 winter varieties for fall and winter use. 



Sweet Corn of the earlier sorts may yet be sown 

 for late use. 



Tomatoes. Cultivate and hoe frequently. Trim- 

 ming plants, or heaxllng back from three to six Inches 

 all the leading shouts from late July until late August, 

 while all the sprouts from late August removed is 

 said to Increase the yield with an Important gain lu 

 earllness. The labor of trimming Is slight. 



Turnips to be sown this month. 



Weeds should not be allowed to ripen seed. Con- 

 stant vigilance, and frequent stirring of the ground Is 

 required. Some sorts like Purslane, are so nerslstent 

 during the heated term, that It maybe best to gather 

 them up frequently iu a basket or wheelbarrow, and 

 remove from the field. 



FRUITS AND VEGETABLES UNDER 

 GLASS. 



Grapes. Early houses need an abundance of air. 

 Laterals to be stopped. After fruit is taken off, 

 cleanse vines very thoroughly. Liquid manure to be 

 applied in late houses. 



Strawberries. To provide for next winter's crop 

 the young plants must be started now in pots. In same 

 fashion as practiced with ordinary potted plants. 

 When runners have taken root in pots, take up and 

 place In shady position, until pots are well filled with 

 roots. Then shift Into six Inch pots. In clean fibrous 

 earth, placing In an open airy situation. Water freely. 



Tomatoes. To get plants that will begin t<» fi-ult In 

 November, sow seed now, growing the plants along in 

 pots, beginning with the small size, and gradually 

 shifting Into larger ones. 



THE POULTRY YARD. 



Shade in Summer is as essential to the welfare 

 of poultry as sunshine is in winter. 



Millet and Sorghum seeds make excellent 

 food for young: chicks, and deserve to be used 

 more generally for this purpose. 



Chicks hatched in July will ^ve you fine 

 broilers for late use, while the pullets maybe 

 kept to lay next spring and summer at a time 

 when most hens stop laying. 



The water dish this month needs constant at- 

 tention. It should be emptied out and filled 

 with fresh clean water several times every day. 

 Wash it out thoroughly at least twice a week, 

 and rinse in water with a little carbolic acid 

 added to it. 



Sprajring perches and rests, and still better the 

 whole interior of the poultry house, with kero- 

 sene, keeps the blood-sucking mite in subjection 

 better than any remedy we ever tried. A gallon 

 of kerosene costs but ten cents, and when thus 

 used, pays handsomely. 



Babbits for "Wool. There is no reason why an 

 improved type of rabbit cannot be profitably 

 kept on the farm. What other stock is so hardy 

 and will produce eight to eleven litters of six to 

 fifteen young at a birth per year? Perhaps 

 future evolution will give us a rabbit half the 

 size of a sheep.— Hollister Sage. 



Burn the oM box nests after the setting hens 

 are through with them. Most of the box nests 

 are excellent breeding places of vermin. There 

 is no better place for a laying hen to lay than in 

 a nest directly on the ground. A little frame 

 around it is about all that is needed. Much litter 

 of any kind is not rtquired. The straw, hay, etc., 

 should frequently be taken out of the old box 

 nest, the latter thorougly sprayed with kero- 

 sene, and new litter put in, if this style of nests 

 is used at all. 



Lettuce for Poultry. During the gardening 

 season our fowls are always kept pretty close- 

 ly confined. Green stuff is one of their great- 

 est needs under such circumstances, and can 

 easily be supplied by giving them the lawn 

 clippings, or still better, someCIover freshly cut 

 from a young Clover field. But nothing of this 

 sort can compare with Luttuce. We always sow 

 plenty of it, and in succession. When it gets 

 large, the plants are pulled up by the wheel- 

 barrow load, and taken to the nen yard, where 

 great quantities are devoured by the fowls with 

 evident relish. It seems to have a wonderfully 

 stimulating effect on the egg mill, too. 



Manapiner Sick Fowls. A sick fowl seldom 

 cares to eat, but it will drink. Give the medi- 

 cine in the drinking water. Here are a few 

 remedies. For the cholera give a teaspoonful of 

 liquid carbolic acid in each quart of drinking 

 water. For indigestion use five drops of the 

 tincture of nux vomica. For roup use a tsible- 

 spoonful of chlorate of potash. For general de- 

 bility use the nux vomica one day and twenty 

 drops of tincture of iron the next. For little 

 chicks that are weak in the legs use a tablespoon- 

 f ul of phosphate of soda. Give all these reme- 

 dies in one quart of water. They may not be 

 "sure cures," but the method is the easiest, 

 cheapest and best.— Farm and Fireside. 



Preservingr Eggs. We do not believe it will 

 pay to preserve eggs in hopes of securing larger 

 prices. If the cost of labor and care, as well as 

 the lower prices obtained for preserved eggs, 

 compared with fresh eggs, be considered, the 

 difference between present and future prices is 

 insuflticient to encourage one to preserve them, 

 butif it is desired to preserve eggs, they should 

 be laid by hens not in company witn males. 

 That is the most important matter of all, as 

 such eggs will keep twice as long as those that 

 are fertile. To buy eggs on the market, without 

 knowing anything about them, and attempt to 

 keep them by some process, is to render one 

 liable to failure. Every season there are thou- 

 sands of barrels of preserved eggs sold at less 

 than the first cost of the eggs. — N. E. Farmer. 



