I89I. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



227 



1,813. Starting: Freesias. For succession of 

 flowers, bulbs may be pnttcd various times dur- 

 ingAuEUst, September and October. They like a 

 mixture of sandy soil with some leaf mould or 

 well-rotted manure. Oive little or no water 

 until (rrowth commences. A number of bulbs 

 may be started in one hirp-c pot. Freesia refracta 

 alba, and F. Lcichtlinii major are prood for cut 

 tlowcrs, Freesias c!Hi I)c trrown for two seasons. 

 Allow them tf) remain in their pots until Aujf jst, 

 then shake out and repot. 



2,475. Hannrinir Asparagas. A good crop of 

 tine fat shoots can only be expected when the 

 material for their development had been stored 

 up in strongshoots during the summer preceding 

 the expected crop. It would be folly to apply 

 manure in the sprinir in the hope of EettinK a 

 natural increase of the crop at once, although 

 the application of nitrate of soda will in most 

 cases assist some. The foundation should be 

 laid the year before, and the best season of doing: 

 this is immediately after we cease cutting the 

 shoots. The roots at this time ha\'e been de- 

 prived of much of their stored up nutriment, 

 and have become hungry and ready to gorge 

 themselves again with reserve supplies for ne.xt 

 crop. If the manure at our disposal is rather 

 coarse, we might apply it in spring to be sure it 

 will bet^nme available later on, and help the crop 

 of the following .year. Manure in more ready 

 available shape may be applied by .Inly 1st, when 

 we cease cutting the shoots, broadcast all over 

 the bed. or at least liberally between the rows, 

 to be cultivated into the ground at an early op- 

 portunity. A dressing of nitrate of soda, given 

 at this time will also assist the roots in assimilat- 

 ing plant foods as a reserve store for the next 

 crop. -G. U. 



1,474. Tomatoes Craokine. VVhilethecracking 

 of some vegetables, as Kohl Rabi, Carrots, etc., 

 appears to be the result of a second growth after 

 a somewhat premature ripening, owing to dry 

 weather or other causes, the cracking of Toma- 

 toes in wet weather is probabl.v due, as in the 

 case of ripe Anples. to the absorption of water 

 through the skin. Cracking of Tomatoes in dry 

 weather, while still immature, in the opinion of 

 E. S. Ooff, apnears to result from an unequal 

 ripening of the fruit. In this case a circle of 

 cracks forms about the stem, and the portion of 

 skin within this circle often remains trreen after 

 that of the remainder has assumed the color of 

 maturit.v. The growth of the ripening part pro- 

 ceeding faster than that of the remainder, a rup- 

 ture takes place between the two jiortions. We 

 can suggest no remedy. 



2,504. Setin Componnd for Scale and Other 

 InsPCtB. These resin washes have been used in 

 California for the red scab, and many will prob- 

 ably prove efficacious for the scales infesting 

 Apple, Pear and other trees. Take eighteen 

 pounds of resin, five pounds of caustic soda of 

 seventy per cent strength, two and one-halt 

 pints of fish-oil. Place in a kettle and boil until 

 dissolved, and then the boiling should be con- 

 tinued an hourlonger. Cold water may be added 

 to keep the stuff from boiling over, but not too 

 much at a time. When boiled sutHciently it will 

 assimilate perfectly with water, and should then 

 be diluted with cold water enough to make 100 

 gallons. It should be strained through a fine 

 sieve tx?fore being sprayed. Re«in compounds 

 have also proved of practical value against the 

 Grape ph.vlloxera, and will also do for the Apple- 

 root louse and other subterranean insects. The 

 best formula to use here is as follows: Caustic 

 soda *77 per cent strenarth), fi\'e pounds; resin 

 forty pounds: water to make fifty gallons. Dis- 

 solve the soda over a fire with four gallons of 

 water, add the resin, and after it is dissolved and 

 while boiling add the water slowly to make fifty 

 gallons of the compound. For use dilute to .500 

 gallons. To use around Grape vines, a hole about 

 six inches deep and two feet in diameter must be 

 dug, and about five gallons used to each vine. 



a,112. DiBsolvine Sulphate of Copper. Bluestone 

 is sometimes ver.v tardy to dissolve, especially 

 when boiling water is not at hand in sufficient 

 rjuantity. The following treatment, that we 

 see recommended, will help over the difficulty. 

 Put the bluestone into a bag of some open ma- 

 terial, coffee sacking for instance, orstrong mos- 

 quito ncttintr. and suspend it so that onl.y a 

 half or two-thirds of the bluestone will be under 

 water. It will disappear in a very short time 

 without requiring any further attention. When 

 the bluestone lies on the bottom of a barrel, the 

 water in the lower part .soon l)ecomes saturated, 

 after which its weight keeps it from diffusing 

 rapidly. 



1,!KK. Caterpillars Poisonous. It is reported 

 that a young lady in Illinois is dying of blood 

 poisoning, owing to the bite of a caterpillar. The 

 attending physician. Dr. J. (;. Ellis, is of the be- 

 lief that the pincer-like fangs of the large arreen 

 caterpillar are poisonous, and in all cases where 

 persons are bitten by them the most prompt at- 

 tention should be paid to the wound or death 

 from blood poisoningmay follow. Neithershould 

 anyone attempt to handle these worms. The 

 little brown, hairy caterpillar we see crawling 

 around are not dangerously poisonous. 



2.471. Cheap Flower Pit. Many fine flowering 

 plants may be wintered over to help adorn our 

 gardens another year, by keeping them in a'sim- 

 ple, well-constructed pit without artificial heat. 

 Hortense Dudley describes such a pit in Country 

 Gentleman as follows: In order to get its fuil 

 share of winter sunshine, the pit had best be ar- 

 ranged for a southeastern exposure. The lowest 

 side should be facing the southeast. Sash and 

 gla.ss are the principal items of expense. A pit 

 that will accomodate (piite a number of hardy 

 plants— as well as many bo.xes of slips, sufficient 

 for all ordinary pu rposes— measures on the in- 

 side, finished, six by eight feet, being four feet 

 deep in front and six feet in the rear, the back 

 wall being two feet higher than the front, in 

 order to give sufhcient slant for carrying off rain 

 water. The floor and walls should be as nearly 

 impervious to water as possible; a brick or stone 

 wall plastered with hydraulic cement would be 

 preferred, but as not all of us can afford that, 

 we usually have a pen built of hewn logs, lined 

 with thick plank on the inside. Just as we con- 

 struct our ice houses, taking care to place the 

 pit on an elevated site that drains itself naturally, 

 to prevent its holding water. One long row of 

 shelves should be made running length- 

 wise of the pit, and facing its lower side. The 

 shelves should be so built that when placed in 

 the pit each lower one will project from eight to 

 ten inches farther than the next upper one, 

 which is ten or twelve inches higher; so placed, 

 with a vacant place left on each shelf near the 

 wall, no other steps will be needed for going 

 down into the pit. It is well to make the shelves 

 of thick Oak plank, stout and strong, a substan- 

 tial support being added in the centre, for boxes 

 of earth are heavy. When finishing off the 

 nit, the curbing in front should be one foot 

 hisher than the surrounding surface of the 

 ground as an additional protection against the 

 water seeping throuch. The clay taken from 

 the pit should be heaped against the wall on 

 every side and tramped smoothly down while 

 damp, when it will become almost solid and carrj' 

 off the water in every direction. Over the sur- 

 face of the clay, however, to add to the beaut.y 

 of the mound, a top-dressing of earth ma.v be 

 spread and covered with blue-grass sod. or some 

 prett.y running vine, as Ground Tvy or Fox Ivy. 

 The sash for a pit of the dimensions given is 

 most conveniently made in three separate pieces, 

 each having no connection with the others, but 

 fitting into a slide of its o^n. so that any one 

 may be raised or lowered at will, or removed en- 

 tirely. Ordinary window glass, of extra thick- 

 ness, when it can l)e had, answers the purpose 

 quite well. The sash above described takes three 

 rows eight by ten. A carpenter can easily con- 

 struct one. or one larger or smaller than the 

 one described. I would not have it much 

 deeper, thouirh. as the plants placed lowest down 

 will he likely to mold, and if the curbing and 

 sash do not fit tightly around the top. the plants 

 will be frosted. In districts visited by heavy 

 snow or hail storms, it would be well to provide 

 light wooden doors as n protection to the glass; 

 these, during severe cold weather, may be kept 

 on for twenty-four hours at a time without in- 

 jury to the plants. 



2,.509. Horse Sadish Cnltnre. Many rural 

 people set out a few roots in the backyard and 

 then let it spread at its own free will. It soon 

 deteriorates under such conditions, and becomes 

 unfit for use. The soil for its cultivation, ac- 

 cording to our best market growers, should be 

 deep, mellow and very rich, so that the roots will 

 be able to reach a good size. The land should be 

 thrown into ridges several feet apart, after being 

 raked smooth, and the sets placed in the hollows 

 made by a wheel-marker. These sets can be oli- 

 tained from any old bed or purchased from 

 market gardeners. They should not be too large 

 or they will branch, and send up innumerable 

 roots to sap away the strenirth of the stalk. The 

 sets should be planted out in May or June, and 

 covered only about an inch with the soil. Catch 

 crops of Beets, liCttuce and Spinach can be 

 planted along with the Horse-radish, which can 

 be gathered up before the Horse-radish has 

 made much headway. In August the plants will 

 he thiee or four feet high. Just liefore the 

 ground freezes a large number of the roots are 

 plowed out for winter use, while man,y are left 

 until spring, the roots being quite hardy, and 

 not much affected b.v the frost. All through the 

 winter there is a demand for the roots, but the 

 spring of the .year is the time of their greatest 

 sale. They can be dug in the fall and kept in 

 pits over winter, which srives them a better 

 flavor, and makes them look better. 



2.505. Strong Flavor in Tnrnips. To prevent 

 it, have soil in good condition, well enriched and 

 well mellowed, so that the plants will grow 

 quickly and succuli'Ut. This reall.v is the only 

 secret about getting good flavor in all veuretables. 

 of which stalk, leaf or root is eat«n. It is also 

 recommended to hill up Turnips to protect them 

 from the influence of sun and air; but with the 

 heavy foliage which always hides the root part 

 when the soil is in proper order for strong growth, 

 such hilling will not be required.— G. R. 



2,.50«. The Pear Midge. This insect (Diplosis 

 P!/ri»")r(il which seems to be a late importation 

 from France, is a serious pegt.attacking the fruit. 

 The infested fruit, says Dr. J. A. Lintner. State 

 Entomologist of New York, can be recognized 

 by its upper three-fourths being enlarged and 

 irregularly swollen, and of a somewhat different 

 color from its base. Upon cutting it open, it dis- 

 closes perhaps from ten to twenty pale, .yellow- 

 ish footless larva>, of about one-tenth of an inch 

 in length, pointed at the ends, and much resemb- 

 ling the larva? of the Wheat midge, to which it is 

 very nearly allied. Hitherto, as far as I know, 

 it has only been reported from a single locality 

 in the tTnited States— at Meriden, Conn. It was 

 probably introduced there about the year 1880 in 

 some Pear stock imported from France. A few 

 years thereafter, it almost entirely destro.yed 

 the crop of Lawrence Pears, while several 

 other varieties were infested in a less degree. 

 Efforts were made to exterminate it before it 

 should spread, by picking off the entire crop in 

 an 'off year,'and destroying it. It was believed 

 that they had succeeded in bringing them under 

 control, for since the notice of its presence at 

 Meriden, nothing more had been heard of it. 

 Last week. F. A. Cole, of Catskill. sent me some 

 Pears, showing an insect attack which had been 

 troubling him for five or six years past, and had 

 recently caused almost the entire loss of his crop 

 of Lawrence Pears. I recognized it at once, as 

 that of the dreaded Pear midce. Visiting and 

 inspectina- his orchard the following day, Tfound 

 the attack a very severe one. I recommended to 

 the owners of the infested orchards at Catskill to 

 follow the method persucd at Meriden, and at 

 once to pick off and burn all the infested fruit. 

 This would be practicable, to a great extend, 

 where the trees are not large, but Mr. Cole 

 deems it too laborious and expensive in trees 

 that have attained the size of his. and proposed 

 to allow the Lawrence to stand as lures, and 

 when the eggs have all been deposited, then by 

 some application to blight the blossoms and 

 thoroughly destroy the contained insect by de- 

 priving it of fruit. This seems quite plausible. 

 T propose to make experiments to see whether 

 the larvie after entering the ground may not be 

 destroyed by some such applications as kerosene 

 emulsion, lime or ashes. 



2,484. Baspberries in Orchard. The Raspberry, 

 and Blackberry also, grow most luxuriantl.y in 

 their native habit, in half-shady woodland clear- 

 ings of our hillsides. Here we usually find the 

 largest and sweetest berries. A young orchard, 

 therefore, would be a most excellent spot for a 

 Raspberry plantation, but for the trees sake, we 

 should not allow them to encroach upon the 

 space needed by the trees. We also should bear 

 in mind that plant food must be given more 

 freely than where but one crop is grown. Mr. 

 S. W. Chambers gives his experience in American 

 Cultivator as follows: I have some Raspberries 

 growing under Apple trees where there isa sreat 

 deal of shade, and from their growth they seem 

 to contradict the common belief that shade is 

 injurious to these berries. They are Cuthberts, 

 and the.v have yielded me good profit every .year. 

 Shade prolongstheripeningperiod of t'^e berries, 

 but it also improves the size and quality of the 

 berries. Now this is n great advantage, for long 

 after the crop planted in the sun has been gath- 

 ered I continue to pick from the canes under 

 shade. In this wav better prices are obtained 

 for those grown under shade. 



1,590. Liftine Plants. I find that soap bo.\es, 

 when sawed into four equal parts, make the 

 most convenient sized boxes in which to pot 

 Chrysanthemums, Tea Roses and large Gerani- 

 ums, when lifted from the open ground. Before 

 lifting Chrysanthemums I take a sharp butcher 

 knife and cut in a circle around the plant, leav- 

 ing a ball of soil around the roots the size of the 

 box I intend to put the plant in. This is done 

 some time before the plant is lifted. I can then 

 lift the plant with a spade without any trouble. 

 With a bit I make three or four holes in the 

 bottom of the box for drainage, then crowd into 

 the bottom about three inches of hay or chaff. 

 After putting the plant into the box I fill in 

 around the roots all the fine Ipotting soil I can 

 get in, wetting it thorouu:hly to settle it. After 

 potting the plants are set in the shade for a few 

 days. When the buds are formed so I can see 

 their shape T pinch out all imperfect ones and if 

 I want the plant for exhibition, pinch out three of 

 every five buds. After the plants have become 

 established in the boxes they should be set 

 where they can have plenty of sun, but no 

 wind, as the least swavinsofthe branches will 

 cause them to break off. When potting I always 

 prune off all unnecessary side branches from the 

 bottom to give the plant a compact, symmetrical 

 shape. Now for best results give tbem'a thorough 

 sprinkling once a week with liipiid manure until 

 the buds begin to show their color. I have this 

 fall about si.xty fine plants, including many of 

 the new varieties, and I anxiously watch the ex- 

 pansion of their buds to see what they are like. 

 .^11 true flower lovers know how intensely inter- 

 esting a new variety of some favorite' flower 

 becomes when it is about to open to our eyes for 

 the first time its hidden beauties.— yi.Z,. Harmon. 



