242 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



September, 



v\,!/( 



TO BE YnDEWKHOWlC 



The Elberta Peach. 1 

 ' would advise nurserymen 

 propagating Peaches 

 throughout the northern 

 section of the country that 

 there is no Peach tliat can 

 compare with the Elberta 

 in hardiness. Bvery nur. 

 seryman who is after 

 dollars and cents should begin to propagate 

 that Peach.-JMr. Bale, before the Nurmnmen's 

 Association. 



The Horticultural Society at Elizabeth, New 

 Jersey, recently offered a package of China As- 

 ter seeds to any girl or boy who would apply for 

 them and agree to grow and enter them for com- 

 petition at the exhibition to be given in Septem- 

 ber. Over 50O packages have been distributed. 

 This incident contains a practical suggestion for 

 individuals and societies. 



Fruit Growing in Southern Illinois. The Fil- 

 son Apple orchard of Clay County, twenty years 

 old, has cleared the owner more than $1,000 per 

 acre. John Prichitt, of the same county, cleared 

 over $300 per acre from his orchard last year. 

 W. S. Morris, Marion county, netted $6 per tree 

 from a five year old Kietfer Pear orchard in 1889. 

 From my own orchard, in Massac county, I sold 

 125 barrels per acre from Wine Sap trees that 

 had been set eleven years. The land had been 

 in cultivation over seventy years, no fertilizer 

 having ever been used.— D. H. Freeman, before 

 lllinoin Hort. Society. 



Home that are no homes have no fruit trees 

 around them. There are no flowers in the door- 

 yards, and the aspect of these places is unlovely 

 and repellant. On approaching such an abode 

 the weary traveler feels a chill as he notices the 

 desolation, and he will hesitate to ask shelter 

 there even from a haU storm. Fruits and flowers 

 mar-k the home-like homes, and though they may 

 be only village places, with grass plats instead of 

 gardens, along the borders of the tiny lawns will 

 be observed dwarf fruit trees and Currant 

 bushes. Even a vegetable garden may be idcal- 

 i7,ed.— Mrs. O. E. LMgan, Mo. BoH. Society. 



Pack Honestly- The slightest trickery in pack- 

 ing is detected instantly by the shrewd buyer, 

 and he promptly knocks off enough from the 

 price to protect himself, and the grower has to 

 stand It. Every man at all familiar with the 

 {ruit trade must know something of the distrust 

 which consumers have for fruit from certain 

 localities, on account of the frauds practiced in 

 packing and picking. If that element of uncer- 

 tainty can be replaced by conBdence, the 

 sale of our fruits would be far more satisfactory 

 and would rapidly increase; the trash would be 

 left at home where it belongs, prices would be 

 far better, tlie percentage of expenses would be 

 less, and the trade much more satisfactory all 

 around.— H'««( Michigan Pttiit Qrowers' Society. 

 Grape Discussions at a New York Farmers' 

 Institute. Col. Curtis said: When I was younger 

 than 1 am now, 1 thought to hurry up the ripen- 

 ing of my Oraiies by letting in the sun upon the 

 clusters, as the sun is a great friend to Grapes; 

 so 1 cut the leaves off all about the clusters and 

 the Grapes were poorer, and the next year the 

 vines were weak and some of them dead. 1 am 

 sure we must be very careful about summer 

 trimming. Mr. Snow.— This is true. It must be 

 done with skill, and a novice had better not try 

 it. Geo. T. Powell.— It we tax our vines too 

 much they will not produce well-grown Grapes. 

 They will not mature and will lack in sweet- 

 ness. 1 want to emphasize the points made that 

 the vines must be cut back and only a few buds 

 left t« produce the clusters. In this way we shall 

 get larger ones, riper vines and sweeter fruit. 



The Products of the Apple Evapjrator. These 

 are "white stock," "skins and cores" and 

 "chops." The white stock is bo.ved and is known 

 to the trade as evaporated Apples. The skins 

 and cores are packed in barrels and shipped to 

 New York and other points, where they are used 

 in the manufacture of jellies and other jams. 

 The so-called "chops" are whole Apples sliced 

 and dried, packed in sugar barrels and exported 

 mostly to France for champagne cider, but they 

 are also used in this country for jelly and Apple- 

 butter. The process of the manufacture of 

 champagne cider has never been found out in 

 this country. Germany takes the largest amount 



of evaporated Apples which are exported; Eng- 

 land next; but all countries take more or less, 

 and many go to Australia. Germany has issued 

 a decree that no evaporated Apples be admitted 

 into the country without a chemist's certiflcate 

 that they contain no zinc poison.— G. A. Dains, 

 before the JV. T. Farmers' rmtituie. 



Wash the Boots Before You Set the Tree. For 

 a number of years 1 have practiced this. Some- 

 times the ground In the nursery is muddy and 

 sticks to or among the roots, and is set out in 

 this condition it will get hard and bake almost 

 like a brick when the weather becomes dry. 

 This will most always kill the tree. Another 

 reason is, sometimes we find root lice; a bluish 

 looking molt at first sight, but on closer obser- 

 vation, one flnds them resembling hen-lice. 

 When they have been on long, the roots become 

 very knotty and full of little fibres grown tight 

 together like a sponge. This kind of a tree is 

 not so good, and should not be planted. 1 put in 

 half a barrel of water, which we set In some con- 

 venient place, about a half box of concentrated 

 lye and two ounces crude carbolic acid In this 

 we dip each tree till washed clean. I have not 

 yet seen any injurious results from this treat- 

 ment, and the trees treated this way have always 

 made a spendid growth.— iUissoiiJ-i Bort. Society. 



American Fomological Society. The society 

 having accepted an invitation of the Secretary 

 of Agriculture, will hold its twenty-third bien- 

 nial session at the hall of the National Museum, 

 in the city of Washington, D. C, on September 

 22, and continuing three days. The Ebbit House 

 is to be headquarters, and will entertain guests 

 at the rate of S2.50 per day. All principal rail- 

 roads have granted excursion rater for persons 

 attending the .session. Rates are one full fare 

 going, and one-third of the highest limited fare 

 returning, on the certiflcate plan, certificates to 

 be endorsed by the Secretary. All packages of 

 fruit intended for exhibition should be sent, ex- 

 press or freight charges prepaid in all cases, to 

 Mr. H. E. Van Deman, Chief of the Division of 

 Pomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D. C. The name of the sender, and 

 "For American Pomologioal Society," must be 

 plainly marked upon each package. For further 

 information address G. B. Brackett, Secretary, 

 Denmark, Iowa. 



Whats in a Namel One of the speakers at a 

 meeting of the Connecticut Board of Agricul- 

 ture said that when visiting the west during the 

 berry season, he went to the market to look at 

 the fruit and found that red Raspberries from 

 central Illinois were selling at $3 per package. 

 Pointing to another lot, he asked, "What do 

 you want for them?" Answer, "$4.50" Sur- 

 prised at this higher rate, he asked, "Let me see 

 them." "No— Parker Earle's name is on the top 

 of those boxes, and we do not want to open them 

 for any one." That name was sulflcient to sell 

 them at an advanced price. Mr. Earle had made 

 a reputation by always furnishing the best, 

 with no sham interiors. A similar case occured 

 with the owner of a fine Pear orchard in Western 

 New York. The commission man in Philadel- 

 phia found that the kegs of Pears were all good 

 through the packages— there were no special 

 selections for the e.xteriors, and no scrubby ones 

 Inside. The consequence was that it was not 

 necessary to open those kegs to purchasers in 

 order to obtain an advanced price, and many of 

 them were sold while yet on the cars long before 

 arrival. 



Cemetery Superintendents to Meet. The fifth 

 annual convention of the Association fif Ameri- 

 can Cemetery Superintendents will be held at 

 Chicago beginning Wednesday, September ». 

 The sessions will be held at the Palmer House 

 during the forenoons, the afternoons to be de- 

 voted to visits to the parks and cemeteries. The 

 programme includes papers on "Perpetual care 

 of burial lots," by Levering, of Mass,, and Mc- 

 Carthy, of R. I.; "Business management of cem- 

 eteries, ' F. W. Higgins, Mich.; "Impressions of 

 Boston meeting," Hamili of Md.; "Cemeteries 

 should present more of nature and less of art," 

 Scott, Ills.; "Flowers for cemetery adornment," 

 Shepard, Ills. Papers are also expected on drain- 

 age, tree planting, sizes of lots, corners, etc., 

 from Simonds, 111.; Boetcher, of N. Y.; Boxall, 

 of Minn.; Brazill, of Mo., and othei-s. The ad- 

 dress of President Barker, will certainly be an 

 interesting oue, and altogether the members e.x- 

 pect the fifth annual meeting to be the peer of 

 the lot. Any desired information regarding the 

 coming convention or the association can be had 

 on application to the secretary, Mr Frank Hig- 

 gins, "Woodmere," Detroit, Mich. 



Exhibits at the Mass. Horticultural Society 



The first of the free weekly exhibition, for prize 

 of flowers, fruits and vegetables was in every 

 way a success, especially as to fruit and vegeta- 

 bles. Among the notable exhibits in flowers, 

 John Ij. Gardner contributes very fine Iris 

 Ka»mperi, Delphiniums, and Lilium caiididum; 

 Mi-s. E. Gill, a beautiful basket and a vase of 

 flowers, some choice Roses and other cut flowers; 

 J. W. Manning, a splendid lot of herbaceous 

 plants; L. M. Chase, a fine Lilium candidum and 

 Delphiniums; Edwin Sheppard & Son, fine Iris 

 Ksemperi; H.H Hunnewell also exhibited a good 

 collection; Nathaniel T. Kidder, good herbaceous 

 plants; J. Comley, a new Begonia in a pot, some 

 fine pink and white Water Lilies and a few good 

 Roses; E. H. Hltchings, Mrs. D. P. Richards and 

 W. E. Coburn, native plant; W. C. Winter, Car- 

 nation and Plcotees; Mrs. A. D. Wood, a choice 

 basket of flowers; and A. McLarin, Delphiniums. 

 In the fruit display, Currants predominated, 

 some being remarkably large. In vegetables, H. 

 M. Walsh, gardener for Mr. Joseph Fay, Wood's 

 Holl, had a fine display, particularly of Potatoes, 

 and not only did he display these singly, but 

 growing in the bunch, as dug up with the stalk. 

 Large Cabbages, Onions, Beans and Peas, sum- 

 mer Squash and Cucumbers, Lettuce, Turnips, 

 Mushrooms, Carrots, etc., were also exhibited. 



Pickings from the Columbus (Ohio) 

 Horticultural Society. 



New Fruits. At a recent well-attended 

 meeting, the matter of "new fruits" came 

 up. On this subject, Mr. C. M. Stark, of 

 Missouri, in a letter sent to the Society, 

 mentioned the Ida Cherry as one of great 

 value. It ripened very early, fruit being 

 gathered May 80th. The trees, of which 

 eight or ten were planted ten years ago, are 

 the finest of all the sweet class he has. They 

 show no injury whatever from cold winters 

 and diseases to which the sweets as a class 

 are subject in our latitude. The quality is 

 simply superb, with very firm flesh, and be- 

 ing so early must make it valuable. 



Mr. Stark has never seen such a crop of Pears 

 as his trees hold this year, excepting Kiefi'er and 

 the Hybrids, and these have a sprinkling from 

 secondary bloom, the main blossom buds swell- 

 ing during warm weather and being killed in a 

 February frost. Japan Pears have not this de- 

 fect. Trees in nursery rows bore a full crop 

 last year when all of the Kietfer were killed, and 

 this year they are also very full. The Japan 

 Golden Russet Pear, which is so highly lauded 

 East, will never prove satisfactory to any one 

 who cares for quality. 



The Bobin in Horticulture. This was the title 

 of a very interesting paper, by E. V. Wilcox, of 

 the Ohio Agiicultural Station. During the 

 month of April sixty robins were shot. The 

 stomachs of all were carefully preserved in al- 

 cohol, and afterwards subjected to a microscopi- 

 cal examination. All the vegetable food found 

 was two seeds of the wild Rye and one seed of a 

 Polygonium. A few spiders and small moUusca 

 were found, but over 96 per cent of the contents 

 was insect remains. Robins are very numerous 

 throughout Ohio; hence considerable interest at- 

 taches to a thorough knowledge of their food. 

 On account of its very decided taste for fruit of 

 all kinds, it bears a close relation in its economic 

 bearings to horticulture. It readily adapts itself 

 to varying circumstances, and usually chooses 

 that food which is most abundant and most 

 easily jirocured. The robin takes his insect food 

 almost wholly from the ground. With the ex- 

 ception of the Walnut caterpillar which was so 

 abundant last year, no other distinctively tree- 

 feeding species has been found in the stomachs 

 examined. 



The old and young robins do not keep together 

 and their habits are quite different. During the 

 small-fruit season nine young robins to one old 

 one were shot in the station gardens. The old 

 birds feed much more largely upon insects than 

 do the young. While the young robins were 

 feeding upon the Itaspberries the old birds might 

 be seen more abundantly in woods or on lawns 

 or newly-mown meadows, searching for insects. 



Two old robins were captui-ed right in the 

 Raspberry bushes, whose stomachs contained no 

 signs of any kind of fruit, but were plentifully 

 filled with insects. 



Petunias and Their Culture. A paper on this 

 subject was read by W. C. Werner, of the Ohio 



