POPULAR GARDENING 



AND FRUIT GROWING. 



"ACCUSE NOT NATURE, SHE HATH DONE BEB PARI: DO THOU BUT THINE." -Mnjioy. 



Vol. VI. 



J^XJ<3fXrST, 18 91- 



No. 1 1. 



August, languid eyed brunette, 

 Lips with blood of berries wet, 

 Cbeeks of Hebe's hue, thy head 

 Auburn, Lotus garlanded. 

 With the dog-star on thy brow, 

 Take thy poet's tribute now; 

 Ruddiest daughter of the year. 

 Nurse of respite, queen of cheer, 

 Work and worry find surcease 

 In thy Insect-strains of peace; 

 All my soul vacation halls 

 In the piping of thy quails. 

 And along thy rural chime 

 Elng the bells of breathlng-tlme. 

 Low of klne and bleat of sheep. 

 Cooing pigeons' song of sleep. 

 Swallow's chat and redwing's cUnk, 

 Mewl of cat-bird and chewlnk, 

 Raven's bark and bittern's shout, 

 Sound my play-day welcome out; 

 Every hill and hedge and tree 

 Sings a song of rest to me. 



— rou(ft*s Companion. 



We ADVOCATE shrubbery borders. 



The Plumed Hydrangea stands matchless 

 this month for fine floral effects. 



Late Keeping Winter Apples Scarce. It 

 is reported that English buyers are trying to 

 contract for the Apple crop in Maine and other 

 Eastern States. Our fruit reports show a scar- 

 city of late-keeping Apples. Growers should 

 not now sell their crops for a mere song. 



Coming National Meetings. The seventh 

 annual meeting of the Society of American 

 Florists, to be held this month at Toronto, pro- 

 mises to be one of the best of the numerous con- 

 ventions held by this stirring association. The 

 visitors will find at Toronto a good deal of the 

 spirit of English gardening, shown by amateurs 

 and others. In no city of the same size on our 

 side, are there so many fine private gardens as in 

 Toronto, a fact which will serve to render that 

 city an Interesting place for holding the conven- 

 tion. Particulars of W. J. Stewart, Secretary, 

 Boston, Mass. . . . The American Pomolog- 

 ical Society will hold its twenty-third session at 

 Washington, D. C, September 22 to 25 next The 

 olBclal program will be Issued at an early date. 



A Scientipic Way of Fighting Insects. The 

 almost entire absence of injurious insects Is one 

 of the most gratifying characteristics of this 

 season. We quspect that this pleasing decrease 

 in the numbers of our enemies is largely due to 

 the multiplication of their natural enemies, and 

 perhaps to the spread of infectious diseases 

 among them. These will undoubtedly yet prove 

 our most efiective weapons against our insect 

 foes. By encouraging, or introducing insect 

 parasites, 'and learning how to propagate and 

 spread the most fatal diseases to which injurious 

 insects are heir to, we will soon gain full control 

 over many of the enemies now most dreaded by 

 the soil worker. Prof. Forbes has recently dis- 

 covered a contagious disease of the Cabbage 

 worm, and the means to spread it among healthy 

 ones. Diseases of other insects will be found. 

 We have at last got on the track of the truly 

 scientific way of dealing with our foes. 



Experiment Stations at the World's Fair, 

 The Experiment Stations are making prepara, 

 tions for a worthy exhibit at the Chicago Expo- 

 sition in 18H2. An Experiment Station will be in 

 active operation, showing all its Inside working, 

 and it will be of especial interest to every soil 

 tiller visiting the grounds. At a meeting of the 

 Committee held recently in Chicago the prepara- 

 tion of the different departments of the exhibit 

 was assigned to the following gentlemen: Ex- 

 periment Station in Operation, Director of the 

 OfiBce of Experiment Stations; the Exhibits of 

 the Individual Stations, H. P. Armsby, Penna.; 



Soils, E. W. Hilgard, California; Manuring, C. E. 

 Thorne, Ohio; Crops, C. S. Plumb, Indiana; Hor- 

 ticulture, E. A. Popenoe, Kansas; Botany, S. M 

 Tracy, Miss ; Animal Nutrition, W. H. Jordan, 

 Maine; Feeding Stuffs, W. A. Henry, Wisconsin; 

 Dairying, W. W. Cooke, Vermont; Veterinary 

 Science, Paul Paijuin, Mo.; Entomology, S. A. 

 Forbes, Ills. This list of departments will give 

 some idea of the scope of the exhibit and the 

 variety of subjects covered by the worl£ of the 

 stations. 



Showing Chrysanthemums and 

 Other Flowers. 



J. L. MASTERS, BHISTOL CO., BIASS. 



The season of fall exhibitions approaches. 

 From the annual fairs of the county agri- 

 cultural societies, and the state and 

 other exhibitions, to the fall Chrys- 

 anthemum and flower shows, there 

 will be steady activity for months 

 to come. It is a matter for every true 

 horticulturalist to rejoice in, for 

 without doubt the competitive ex- 

 hibits and tests of horticultural pro- 

 ducts continue to prove, as they 

 have done in the past, one of the 

 greatest incentives to the bettering 

 of the kinds of flowers as well as the 

 methods of cultivation. 



What I desire to speak of Is an 

 improved method for showing cut flowers, 

 but It will apply to some other products as 

 well. It is especially suited to properly show 

 longrStemmed flowers like Chrysanthemums 

 and Roses. Who has not been at shows and 

 seen this class of flowers placed in glass 

 vases which would upset at the slightest 

 touch? Who has not seen a dozen glasses 

 of fine long-stem exhibition blooms, swept 

 down In the midst of a crowded exhibition 

 by the accidental stroke of the attendants 

 arm against the top-heavy exhibits? Any 

 one who has had experience with such a 

 muss of flowers, glassware and water In 

 the presence of a crowd of lookers-on, will 

 appreciate the valueof an improvement here. 



Now the methods I have to suggest for 

 showing flowers is not a new one, but I 

 have seen it In use so rarely that I think It 

 must be new to the majority of exhibitors. 

 It Is regularly to be seen at shows about 

 Boston, Mass. The drawing will indicate 

 what there is of it. A series of shelves of 

 any length, holes in these at intervals, into 

 which are placed the flower holders, con- 

 sisting of glass or metal tubes. The holders 

 are securely held, there is no possibility of 

 them tipping over, however top-heavy the 

 flowers may be, .and never a drop of water 

 can be spilled. The expense of the equip- 

 ment is little if any more than that of an 

 outfit of exhibition vases. 



and many disadvantages, especially so far 

 as the control of heat is concerned. In some 

 instances the waste steam of factories can 

 be and Is now being utilized for heating 

 hot-beds. Mr. A. I. Root, of Medina, O., 

 for Instance, has a large plant of this kind. 

 Unless the hot-beds are very extensive, 

 however, we would consider hot water pre- 

 ferable to steam heating, as It undoubtedly 

 Is for heating small greenhouses. Prof. J. 

 L. Budd, of the Iowa Experiment Station, 

 now has a hot-bed heated by hot- water pipes 

 in successful operation, and kindly gives us 

 the following description of It: 



" Our hot- water hot-bed is a lean-to pit on 

 the north side of plant house. It is forty 



STAGE FOR SHOWING FLOWERS. 



feet long and just wide enough to be cov- 

 ered by common hot-bed sash, which incline 

 to the north. The pit Is enclosed by outer 

 and two end brick walls three feet in height, 

 banked with earth on the outside to the top. 

 The floor, covered with sand, is within eight 

 inches of the top of the outer wall. Under 

 this is a pit two feet four inches in depth, in 

 which are placed the four inch hot-water 

 pipes In a block, the two upper being flow, 

 and the two lower return pipes. 



The flow and rettim pipes connect with a 

 small conical boiler— Hitchings No. 3'2 — with 

 Inch and a quarter gas pipes. The needed 

 heat of water is kept up with a closed draft, 

 consuming coal very slowly. To run It 

 through the winter requires less than a ton 

 of anthracite coal. 



The bed is used for rooting cuttings of 

 herbaceous plants, and during the winter 

 for rooting dormant cuttings of such shrubs 

 as are easily grown in this way. If we have 

 a space left in spring it Is used for any pur 

 pose for which ordinary hot-beds are used. 

 With a north exposure of glass we get less 

 sun heat, but we find It ample with the reg- 

 ular bottom heat, and a little neglect in 

 airing is not so disastrous." 



Hot Beds Heated by Hot Water. 



The old flue system of heating green- 

 houses is prettyniuch crowded out by steam 

 and hot-water pipes. These new heating 

 methods, with their even, easily controllable 



heat, safety and convenience of manage-N-eaches youth, and finally maturity, with 

 ment, give so many advantages over the old ; out learning of the pleasures to be derived 



Botany In Our Common Schools. 



C. S. V.ILENTINE, UNION CO., N. J. 



More vigorously than ever should the plea 

 for Instruction in botany in our district 

 schools be urged. The habit of observation 

 to which such instruction leads and fixes, 

 would be an abundant return for the time 

 and work which must be given to it; but 

 aside from this the country child who 



way, that progressive horticulturists would 

 naturally be inclined to look with favor 

 upon the Idea of making a similar change 

 in hot bed management. 



The manure hot-bed may have its uses, 

 and continue In use for some purposes, but 

 it Is always connected with inconvenience, 



from the simple things around him— from 

 the study of the beauties and oddities of 

 field and wood, has almost been robbed of a 

 birthright. 



The celebration of a yearly Arbor Day 

 clearly points in this direction, for not until 

 the science which teaches the Interesting 



