66 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



March. 



Prune When You Plant. 

 That a wide-spread need of common infor- 

 mation on gardening matters prevails, is 

 shown by the fact that about three out of 

 every four persons who set out shade and 



winds and cold, the root becomes overtaxed 

 and enfeebled, and it will be a wonder if the 

 tree escapes with its life — millions every 

 year fail to do so. If it does escape, the 

 chances are it will be stunted in nature, 

 never to make the tree that a com- 

 rade would in the hands of a judicious 

 pruner. Neither can free watering 

 or rich soil ever make up for the 

 absence of roots in a'young tree. 



that often the sorts accompanied by the 

 largest descriptions are not the best for 

 your particular garden. Once a good line of 

 sorts is struck, be slow to trifle with it in the 

 way of supplanting good ones by new comers. 

 But let some novelties be tried, of course. 





FIG. 1. 

 THE TREE BEFORE AND AFTER PRUNING. 



fruit trees, never prune wlien they plant. 

 The one-fourth who do prune' embraces, we 

 think, mainl}' the intelligent fruit-growers 

 and other planters of the country, and they 

 usually cut severely at this time. 



Suggest such treatment to the non-prun- 

 ers, and )'ou are met with the response, that 

 it spoils the tree; they don't want to wait 

 a life-time for it to get large, by cutting one- 

 third away at the start. We have drawn up 

 an engraving, to throw light on the fact, that 

 it is just the other way. The man who 

 prunes freely at planting, gives his trees the 

 best kind of a start for shortly regaining 

 vigor in the new situation, and for rapid 

 future development. 



Fig. 1 shows a young, thrifty tree before 

 transplanting, much as it is in reality, name- 

 ly: with top and roots about evenly balanced, 

 as to length of parts. Because the roots are 

 out of sight in the earth, we fail often to 

 realize what extent the}' liave. But young 

 growths, that are lifted with care, frequently 

 show even a greater relative proportion of 

 roots to the top, than is seen in the engraving. 



Now, in the ordinary digging of trees, it 

 is easj' to understand by Fig. 1 , that a large 

 proportion of the roots must staj' in the 

 ground. If as many of these as are shown 

 inside of the dotted line A. and of the spade, 

 remain in digging, the planter maj' feel 

 himself well off. With this view of the 

 case, common sense at once would sug- 

 gest that such trees should lose about the 

 same proportion of the top, saj' about 

 as much as lays outside the dotted line B. 

 The head should not, however, be cropped 

 off rounding. The better way is to cut back 

 the last season's growth from one-half to 

 one-third in the main, and remove some 

 other branches throughout the top entirely, 

 to reach the right measure. Fig. 1, should 

 appear after pruning, aliout like Fig. 3 now 

 does. Then the top will suit the root, the 

 root the top, and with good planting, the tree 

 will be in a promising shape. The same 

 rule applies to evergreens and shrubs also. 



To not prune at planting, gives the ej'e 

 more to rest on at the start to be sure, but 

 the tree is left in the sad plight of having 

 more top than the remaining roots can sup- 

 port. Then come the vicissitudes of drouth, 



What.Cood Treatment Does. 



To claim that there is no difference 

 in the merits of the different varieties 

 of flowers, fruit or vegetables would 

 be absurd. Yet we come forward 

 to say that the differences here have 

 less to do with results, than has the 

 difference in treatment usually given 

 by different growers. In other 

 words, a good gardener will very 

 often manage an inferior variety, to 

 far excel some superior sort, in the 

 hands of a poor cultivator. 



At the annual fairs of the fall 

 sea.sons, crowds stand around the 

 exhibits of big Squashes, Pears, 

 Pansies and what not, tilled with 

 admiration. Thej- wonder at such amaz- 

 ing possibilities in the light, perhaps, of 

 some scrawny and diminutive products of 

 their .own gardens. They do not see the 

 fertile garden, the manure water tanks and 

 the high tillage that are really at the back of 

 the wonderful display. It would be well for 

 gardening if something more tangible could 

 be done in the way of exhibiting these. The 

 products are there, the agents that produced 

 them are too often lost sight of. 



Now this is the season when the catalogues 

 of seedsmen, nurserymen and florists arrive 

 in grand array, to interest 

 customers. They are a 

 class of publications we 

 are proud of — their value 

 in promoting, an interest 

 in ga rdening matters, is 

 beyond all measure. Much 

 can be learned by reading 

 these thoroughly, not ex- 

 cepting even the adjective- 

 larded descriptions of 

 novelties. But while we 

 would not advocate poring 

 over and studying the 

 catalogues less, we would 

 say, study methods of 

 gardening even more. Let 

 your hopes of success be 

 based rather on good 

 tillage and soil improve- 

 ment, than on the special 

 merits of the sorts and 

 kinds to be employed, im- 

 portant as these are. 

 Manure is really more 

 potent than are splendid 

 catalogue descriptions. 



The true course in gar- 

 dening of any kind, is to 

 start right as to soil, fertility 

 and good tillage. Then, 

 with these, make a trial of 

 the various standard sorts 

 offered, to learn which are 

 best suited to the circum- 

 stances of each particular 

 garden, and for securing proper variety. We 

 speak here, of course, to the inexperienced. 

 You will be surprised in this way, to tind 



Clematises of Other Colors than 

 Purple. 



Perhaps the most popular hard}' climber 

 of to-day is the violet purple Clematis Jack- 

 manii. This is easily accounted for, on the 

 grounds, that the plant possesses numerous 

 and exceptionally good qualities. It is an 

 immense bloomer throughout the summer, 

 and until freezing weather — in this respect 

 being equalled b}' no other variety. The 

 flowers are so distinct in appearance, with 

 their intense, velvety richness, that they at 

 once command attention. The plant is per- 

 fectly hardy, commences to bloom freely in 

 its second year after planting, and never fails 

 to produce large sheets of bloom while in 

 health. It therefore advertises itself, and 

 whenever once it is planted in a community, 

 there seems to be no end to the call for the 



A WHITE-FLOWERED CLEMATIS. 



plants on the nurserymen who raise them. 

 But the very fact that this plant is so con- 

 spicuous in beauty and so successfully grown. 



