1891. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



207 



a marvel for its possible combination of 

 colors, and exquisite delicacy. It is quite 

 as easy to raise seedlings as from the com- 

 mon Geraniums. 



I have seen but one Heliotrope in a vein- 

 dow collection that was as glorious as it 

 ought to be. It was a tub-grown plant, four 

 feet in height, and as large in proportion. 

 Covered with flowers it was a great sight; 

 but of course the glory of the Heliotrope is 

 its perfume. The form can be varied from 

 that of a bush to a small tree growing to a 

 single trunk. They do not like too fre- 

 quent repotting, but to be well fed. Cut 

 back well in August, and in mid-winter 

 you will have full bloom. There is a great 

 difference in the style of growth of the 

 different varieties. Select the fine growers, 

 irrespective of color of blossoms. One ad- 

 vantage of sweet-scented plants is now well 

 known to be their power to generate ozone. 

 That is by growing such plants we com- 

 bine the advantage of beauty with whole- 

 someness. The Heliotrope perfume to most 

 persons is very delightful, andvery healthful. 



The Fuchsia is not likely ever to fall out 

 of favor. It is unequalled for beauty, clean- 

 liness, and siilts the taste of every sort of 

 person. You are as likely to find Fuchsias 

 in hovels as in mansions. A single plant 

 rightly grown is a glorious affair. The 

 Fuchsia all in all is the very best of all 

 house plants. It is unfit for bedding ex- 

 cept in shady locations, but In half-shaded 

 beds it does finely out of doors. Its real 

 glory is as the queen of house plants. Dif- 

 ferent varieties choose to grow in different 

 styles, but as a rule one had best grow a 

 straight upright about three feet high, and 

 then pinch off the top. When the side 

 shoots get long enough pinch in until the 

 bush is compact. Remove seed pods. Sup- 

 ply with plenty of water. Keep partly 

 shaded and turn the sides frequently to the 

 light. A Fuchsia cutting in wet sand or 

 dirt roots with great ease. Cut off young 

 wood smooth under a .ioint, and plunge 

 half under the sand. Transplant at three 

 weeks, in good garden soil, in small pots, 

 and transfer as they grow. You can shape 

 a Fuchsia to your will. They do not like a 

 hot or dry atmosphere. The full grown 

 Fuchsia requires a six or eight inch pot. 

 Young plants are so easily started it does 

 not generally pay to hold on to old ones. I 

 like some of the old roots better than most 

 of the new ones, but every florist can supply 

 half a dozen elegant sorts. Remember that 

 one fine plant gives more satisfaction than 

 many poor ones. 



There is one more old-fashioned flower I 

 am passionately fond of, that is the Hydran- 

 gea Hortensis. It is hardy, ea.sily grown, 

 clean and when well grown becomes a mass 

 of flowers. I remember two boxes in a lady's 

 porch that had on each forty superb clusters 

 of bloom. The color is fine pink, changing 

 after several weeks to green. 



I should add, by all means let us go back 

 to the old-fashioned Rose and Pennyroyal 

 and Apple Geraniums of our mothers. 

 These were of that class I have described 

 as wholesome. The odor was always grate- 

 ful to people sick or well The leaves 

 crushed in the pocket remained a pleasure. 

 Of all these 1 still prefer the Apple-scented. 



Experimenting with novelties has its 

 charms, but there is a quiet restful pleasure 

 in going to the pets of earlier years, nor are 

 they surpassed by later candidates for favor. 



Home-Made Weeder. 



Good work in weeding may be done with 

 various simple tools, such as broken table 

 knives, bent in a slight curve, ordinary iron 

 spoons, which are used by many growers in 

 Onion weeding, etc. We find Lang's weeder 

 quite handy and useful in weeding close- 

 planted garden stuff. 



Geo. G. Jones, of Wisconsin, gives us the 

 following description of a very convenient 

 home-made weeder: Take a section of an 

 old mowing machine knife; drill a hole In 

 center; grind all the edges sharp; rivet an 

 iron rod about a foot long to it, passing 

 through the center hole, and fit a wooden 

 handle to the rod. You will then have a 

 useful implement to cut out weeds from 

 among garden vegetables. 



Among the Ontario (Canada) Fruit 

 Growers. 



Commercial Fruit Grower's Outlook. 

 Over production has long been the bug bear 

 of many fruit growers. Whenever the 

 prices of fruits were low, or unsatisfactory 

 to the producer, expressions of fear were 

 heard that fruit growing is overdone, and 

 further planting would not be remunerative. 



HOME-MADl WEEDER. 



Dr. D. W. Beadle's address was an able 

 refutation of this Idea. Thousands of well- 

 grown trees are planted, he says, that will 

 never affect the fruit market, simply be- 

 cause they will never bear a crop except 

 that of bitter disappointment. People who 

 only go into fruit growing as a speculation, 

 will never make a success of it. To succeed 

 in any business one must have love and 

 enthusiasm for it, and give it thought and 

 study. The great majority who plant lack 

 this requisite, consequently will never pro- 

 duce a crop to hurt the market. 



The demand for fruits is Increasing rap- 

 idly. Yet the fruit-eating qualities of the 

 people are by no means fully developed. It 

 is also observed that the urban population 

 — the consumers — are increasing much faster 

 than the rural population — the producers. 

 The export trade of the Dominion is also 

 assuming larger proportions from year to 

 year, and in 1889 amounted to over one 

 million dollars. Altogether he thinks the 

 outlook is quite good. 



Attractive Fruit Packages. Mr. N. 

 Avery, M. P. P., in his address spoke in 

 favor of good fruit in attractive packages, 

 and mentioned that he had often been fooled 

 by the pink gauze covering, that imparted 

 to the very inferior Peaches in the basket a 

 tempting, rosy, but deceitful appearance. 

 Good fruit, temptingly displayed in a nice 

 package, will permanently increase the de- 

 mand and insure good prices. 



Fruit Growing in Western New York. 

 Mr. S. D. Willard gave a report on the last 

 two fruit crops in Western New York. No 

 larger Grape crop was ever known in West- 

 em New York than that of 1890. Among 

 meritorious fruits the following were men- 

 tioned, viz: Harris Apricot, ripening near 

 Seneca Lake about .July 20th; very profita- 

 ble. Yellow Transparent Apple, now the 

 most satisfactory early Apple; Mcintosh 

 Red Apple, good for market; Sutton's Beauty 

 Apple, better than Baldwin for winter, and 

 un.surpassed beauty; Hubbardston's None- 

 such Apple,just beginning to be appreciated. 



Mr. Willard says that we should plant 

 Peaches that are hardy, especially so in 

 fruit bud, and recommends the following 

 list. Hill's Chili, Morris White, Early Riv- 

 ers, Horton's Rivers, Hyne's Surprise, Yel- 

 low St. John, Garfield or Brighton. 



Of I'ears, the Bartlett, Duchess and Kieffer 

 have proved most profitable, especially the 



latter. The following Plums were found 

 superior, viz: Czar, Prince of Wales, Mon- 

 arch, Archduke, Grand Duke, all new 

 English sorts; also Field Hudson River, 

 Purple Egg, Stanton and Middleburg. 



Mr. Willard declares there is money in 

 Cherries, especially in the sour ones. Mont- 

 morency, English Morello and King Philip 

 are among the best of the sour class, and ■ 

 Gov. Wood, Rockport and Windsor of the 

 sweet Cherries. Windsor is an excellent 

 new sort from Canada, and the best dark 

 colored one In the lot. 



There seems to be an increasing demand 

 for cultivated Blackberries, and the crop 

 has proved to be profitable. Snyder and 

 Early Barnard are recommended as about 

 the best varieties for Western New York. 



Carrying of Domestic Fruits. Com- 

 plaints were uttered freely about the rough 

 way that fruits were handled by the ex- 

 press companies. Mr. Dempsey stated that 

 he never risks the express companies if he 

 can avoid It. He ships Pears and almost 

 all fruits, except Strawberries, by freight, 

 and they always arrive in good order. 



Methods of Propagating Fruit Trees. 

 Mr. Craig, of the Experimental Farm at 

 Ottawa, suggests that we have given plenty 

 of attention to new varieties, and perhaps 

 not enough to the effects of various modes 

 of propagation on the health and longevity 

 of the subjects operated upon. Often the 

 question might come up, whether root and 

 stock of the trees we plant are on good 

 terms or not. 



The advantages of the budding method 

 are ease and cheapness; its disadvantage 

 is the impracticability of setting the budded 

 tree deep enough to allow the emission of 

 roots from the clou. Frequently it also re- 

 sults in a crook in the base of the tree. 



The advantages of wholp-rooted trees, 

 whether budded or grafted, lie in the pro- 

 duction of a deeper, firmer, and more sym- 

 metrical root system a.t first than are usual- 

 ly produced by piece-roots. Consequently 

 the Itrees make a more rapid growth the 

 first two or three years. The disadvantages 

 are cost of root, and that they cannot be set 

 deep enough to emit of roots from the cion. 



The piece-root seems to serve an almost 

 indispensible purpose where extra hardiness 

 is desired. It allows the use of a long cion 

 to be set deep. The piece-root should serve 

 only as a temporary root for a cutting. The 

 cion represents a variety of known hardi- 

 ness, while the seedling root is variable, 

 and the majority of cases probably not 

 hardy enough to withstand very severe 

 climates. 



Good tree for all purposes can be obtained 

 by using only the first and second cuts from 

 the root, and these cuts should not be less 

 than three and one-half inches long, and the 

 cion between five and six inches. All these 

 statements are the result of carefully con- 

 ducted experiments made at the experiment 

 farm at Ottawa. 



The Pear is usually propagated by bud- 

 ding, but whole root grafting is much used. 

 By shortening the main root somewhat, and 

 using a four and one-half inch cion, the 

 twelve inch root graft, will makea good tree. 



An easy method of propagating the Plum, 

 Cherry and the stone fruits in general, is 

 that by root cuttings. The roots nearest the 

 surface are better than the deep feeding 

 ones. Take up in fall, cut into three inch 

 lengths, and pack in boxes with alternate 

 layers of moist sand and earth. Store the 

 boxes in a frost-proof cellar. In spring the 

 roots, then well calloused, are planted in 

 nursery rows or thickly in beds, stuck into 

 slanting position with top end three-fourths 

 inches below the surface. Propagation can 

 thus be carried on quite rapidly. Mr. Craig 

 thinks that trees on their own roots would 

 be less subject to disease. 



