POPULAR GARDENING 



FOR TOWN AND COUNTRY. 



■'ACCUSE NOT NATURE, SHE HATH DONE HER PART; DO THOU IH'T 7'//7.VK."-MrLTON. 



Vol. 1. 



IiTO"VE3S^nBEia, 1885. 



No 2. 



The Crab Apples. 



Both as Drnaiueiital aud fruit-beariuj;- tieus 

 the Cral) Apples, possess vaUie; wliy they 

 are not more planted, must be because of 

 their merits uot being well enough known. 



The true Crabs, of which the Siberians are 

 the type, are, as the name indicates, natives 

 of Siberia, which fact, accounts for their 

 sujierior hardiness among fruit trees. Num- 

 erous sorts have sprung from the originals, 

 hut among the.se all, the latter 

 continues to occupy a high 

 place. 



The chief merits of the Crab 

 Apples, may be summed u]i as 

 e m b racing gi'eat hardiness, 

 beauty of habit, foliage and 

 flowers, and their value for 

 fruit-bearing. Considered 

 merely as ornamental trees, 

 their culture has been much 

 neglected; no other apple pro- 

 duces such a quantity of 

 beautiful flowers as the Crab, 

 — the trees being smothered 

 with bloom in its season. 

 Planted as single specimens 

 on small lawns, or in numbers, 

 as an ojien group on a 

 large [irea, and any of the 

 varieties wo\ild afford satis- 

 faction. 



Although dwarf in stature, 

 the Crabs grow freely and 

 flower and fruit consideralily, 

 in about three years. Later 

 on they bear profusely, — the 

 writer remembers once count- 

 ing 127 apples on a branch 

 thirty inches in length. The 

 fruit is valuable for making 

 into preserves or jellies. 



Of the various Crab Apples, 

 the Transcendent variety 

 shown in the engraving, is one 

 of the largest and most useful, 

 very handsome, bein.s;- golden yellow, with a 

 crimson cheek in the sun. This variety is 

 valued as a table fruit in some sections. The 

 Large, Yellow Siberian Crab and the Red 

 Siberian Crab are still among the most u.se- 

 ful kinds of this interesting class. Trees, of 

 these and others, are procurable fnmi the 

 leading nurserymen. They transplant read- 

 ily in the fall months. It may be mentioned 

 that there is a Double-flowering Crab Apple, 

 which is s|iecially recommended as a lawn 

 tree, on account of its fine flowers, but tliis 

 sort pos.sesses no value for fruit. 



leafing to late-leafing kinds, then — otlier things 

 Ijeing equal, so for this season, those kinds with 

 attractive foliage, be it in green or the rich 

 autunm tints, are preferred to kinds that early 

 become bare. Indeed the choosing and arrang- 

 ing of these, with a view to fine autinuu effects, 

 after the last flowei-s are past, and the season's 

 desolation has set in, has always been a favor- 

 ite study with me, in managing mj- collection. 

 -■Vmong a large collection here, I find the fol- 

 lowing are now attractive in leaf, the colors 



The fruit is 



Garden Notes from Lyndale. 



BY A. H. E. 



Niii-ciiihi-r ■'>. The diflfereuee in the leaf -fall- 

 ing time of ibfferent trees and shrabs, is even 

 gi-eater than is the difference of their time in 

 coming out, in the spring. As I prefer early- 



TRANSCENDENT CRAB APPLE. 



varying somewhat. Conspicious among those 

 of a good green now, ai'e the Ash, Cork Maple, 

 Purple Fringe in part. Birches, Sycamore Ma- 

 ple, Norway Maple, European Linden, Balsam 

 Poplar, Weeping Beech, Rosemar^'-Ieaved Wil- 

 low, Lilacs, Japan Quince, Forsjthia, Privet, 

 Vibui'num Opulus, Weigela, Berberry, Rough- 

 leaved Viburnum, Snowtjerry, Corchorus, Ce- 

 lasti-us, and some others. 



Kinds that show a good deal of yellow, are 

 the Cut^leaved Bu-cb, Balsam Poplar, Mulberry, 

 some Elms, some Lindens, Tulip Tree, White 

 Fringe, Fortune's Spira?a and so on. 



Of kinds that are now brilliant with crimson, 

 orange and other rich tints ai-e the Red Oak, 

 Liquid Amber, Bird Cherry, Sumachs, Sa.ssa- 

 fraji, Ko:-lreuteria, Thorns, Native Viburnums, 

 Red-barked Dogwood, Plimi-leaved Spu-aea,some 

 Purple Fringe, Flowering Currants, Blackber- 

 ries and Virginia Creeper. 



* * *■ 



Noceiiibi-r 7. Of all the months, flowers are 

 the scarcest, I think, in NovemlK?r. But while 

 .so many others fail now, the Chrysanthenuim— 

 the Glory of the Autunm— never fails. 



I should have said it never fails with I'e'-eiv- 

 ing tolerably fair treatment. Quite hardy as 

 the plants are, there is no use to eoiuit on How- 

 e!"s in the open gi-ound, unless the buds and 

 blooms receive some shelter from untoward 

 autumn weather. 



Several years ago I had a fine lot of Chrys- 

 anthemums in a border against the grapery, 

 that flowered IjeautifuUy with being eovere<l 

 with sash, dui'ing bad weather from October 

 1st on. For my main supply of flowers I count 

 on i)lants growing in jKits in 

 the conservatory or window, 

 these having mostly been lifted 

 from the border a month or 

 more ago. With having them 

 inside I can get the good of them 

 any day or hour, which is not 

 always the case when they are 

 outside, even If under sashes. 



* * * 

 Some Pearl Tuberoses in the 



conservatory keep company in 

 their blooming, with the early 

 > Chrysanthemums. These are 



from a select lot of bulbs, that 

 were kept dry and cool through 

 the spi'ing and up to August 1st, 

 before starting. Then they 

 were put into light rich soil in 

 six-inch pots, a bulb in each jjot, 

 aud kept in a frame until eai'ly 

 in October. The Tuberose is a 

 plant that requires heat, sun 

 aud air liljerallj- to, produce 

 good bloom ; without these now, 

 the buds would lie likely to 

 blast before a flower develops, 

 causing the loss of much trouble. 



* * * 

 IVoiviiibi'r 12. A large Wild 



Grape Vine, climbing over a 



Maple tree, in the wooil near 



by, is full of interest to the 



children of the neighborhood 



just now. It is of the species 



kno«Ti as the Frost Grape, 



Vifis vofdifolin. Before the 



recent frosts, the .small black 



fruit was " soiu' grapes" indeed; the youngsters. 



who have access to better fruit, would by no 



means touch it. But lij' this time the autumn 



frosts have so improved the flavor of these 



grapes, that now they are.for novelty,uot whoUj' 



unpalatable. 



The Ix^auty of this old Grape Vine, which 

 neaily covei-s its supporting tree forty feet in 

 height, and the sweetness of its flowers in sum- 

 mer, leads me to s-jx'ak in praise of the (rraiK", 

 as an ornamental climber. For this purpose, 

 the free-gi-owing, clean-leaved wild sorts, or 

 neai- relatives in cultivatit>n. are the most suit- 

 able. Among kmds advertise<l in the cata- 

 logues, none is more ornamental in foliage, or 

 more vigorous than "Taylor " or "Taylor's 

 Bullet." As it has larger leaves than the wild 

 sorts, to which it is neai-ly related, it may well 

 be placed at the head of the list for this pur- 

 pose. The fruit is inferior. 



Planted to cover a trt»e, arbor or verandah, 

 gi-apes of this cla.ss, I think, are always satis- 

 fai'tory. In fact, for ilensity of shade, U-auty 

 of the foliage and grace, few ifany othei- hardy 



