8o 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



April, 



April. . 



Come up April, through the valley. 

 In your robes of beauty drest, 

 Come and wake your dowery children 

 From their wintry beds of rest. 

 Come and overflow them softly 

 With the sweet breath of the south ; 

 Drop upon them, warm and loving, 

 Tenderest kisses of your mouth. 



— Phoebe C'ary. 



Far Reaching. 



We scatter seeds with careless hand. 

 And of the act think little more; 

 But for a thousand years 

 Their fruit appears. 

 In weeds that mar the land. 

 Or healtliful store. 



*' Ye have no history. I ask in vain 



Who planted on the slope this lofty group 



Of ancient pear trees, that with spring-time burst 



Into such breadth of bloom. One bears a scar 



Where the quick lightning scored its trunk, yet still 



It feels the breath of spring, and every May 



Is white with blossoms. 'VMio it was that laid their 



Infant roots in earth, and tenderly 



Cherished the delicate sprays. I ask in vain. 



Yet bless the unknown band to which I owe 



This annual festival of bees, these songs 



Of birds within their leafy screens, these shouts 



Of joy from children gathering up the fruit 



Shaken in August from the willing boughs.'' 



— Brya n t. 



Daisies like a cool soil. 



As ye sow, so shall ye reap. 



Crocuses keep the bees busy. 



Going to seed : the gardener. 



The 'Weigelia dates from 184.5. 



Remember that ."iO,000 suliscribers. 



We say ti'y some new things everj' year. 



'Mums is the short for Chrysanthemums. 



Never surrender in the war against insects. 



Has the lawn l.>een rolled ? Don't forget this. 



The flowers appear glad for April's coming. 



Flowers: ever a rich theme for poet's songs. 



Look out for putty adulterated with blue 

 clay. 



Flowering Fuchsias need free draughts of 

 water. 



Pussy Willows are an attraction to all young- 

 sters, we think. 



At garden-making time many a person 

 would subscribe if asked. 



Drummond's Phlox has got a stai't as a wild 

 plant in some pai'ts of Florida. 



Advertisements must reach us by the 1.5th of 

 the month, for the month following. 



We Thank You. This we say most heartily 

 to our many friends who have sent in clubs. 



A Butterfly came out to greet the Crocuses 

 in her garden, the other day, writes one sister. 



Hardy garden flowers show off the best in 

 wide beds, having a back ground of evergreens. 



A variegated Ficus repens,of striking beauty, 

 is reported from Cambridge Botanic Gardens, 

 Boston. 



A friend, complaining to us about her plants 

 not blooming, says they look as if they felt 

 ashamed of it. 



In tying up plants, see how few strings you 

 can have in sight, instead of how many, as 

 some seem to do. 



An idea for spring : — Do a little now, in en- 

 larging our family circle, for now if ever .people 

 will want the paper. 



Let the children have some of the responsi- 

 bility of the light garden work. They nat- 

 urally incline towards gardening. 



The Eobin and other spring-songsters are on 

 hand again, to charm us with their sweet 

 music. It seems sweeter than ever before. 



No use to look for flowers on newly planted 

 Chinese Wistarias under half-a-dozen years; 

 but when they do come,they pay richly for the 

 waiting. 



One's name may not live far down into the 

 ages, but he who plants a tree does an act that 

 is destined to carry blessings through many 

 generations. 



Blood-leaved Trees. The three best for the 

 I lawn are,perhaps,River's Purple-leaved Beach, 

 Blood-leaved or Schwerdler's Maple, and the 

 Purple-leaved Birch. 



To get half-a-dozen persons to unite with the 

 P. fi. family in your neighborhood, would tend 

 to improve the tone of the gardening about 

 you most decidedly. Try it. 



Pleasure Gardening had made considerable 

 progress under the ancient Romans ; it is be- 

 lieved that the Italian style of gardening is 

 very nearly a perfect continuation of it. 



■When ordering anything from our adver- 

 tisers do not fail to mention where you belong 

 —that is in the Popular Gardening family. 

 It will bring special attention, mind you. 



Trees, whether planted for ornament or in or- 

 chards, do best for the society of other trees 

 near by, through affording mutual protection 

 from winds, and extremes of heat and cold. 

 But dou't crowd them. 



Small, Sweet, Numerous. A Pennsylvania 

 correspondent writes, that although he thinned 

 out 1,200 pears from one Seckel tree in his gar- 

 den, last summer, those remaining footed up 

 1,7.50 at gathering time, total 3,950. 



If you want Vii-ginia Creeper it's hardlj' 

 worth while to buy the plants, if some wood 

 can be hatl. Make into cuttings a foot long, set 

 these uprightly in the soil, with an inch out of 

 the ground, and you'll soon have plants. 



Flowers for gifts are as adaptable as they are 

 charming; where, in all creation, is there 

 anything like unto them. A queen may give 

 them to her subjects; the poorest child can 

 obtain and fitly pi-esent them to a monarch. 



White worms in flower pots are sometimes a 

 gi'eat torment. One member of the family who 

 modestly signs herself " N. M. P.," offers to the 

 others this remedy : add one teaspoonful of car- 

 bolic acid to one quart of rain water, and with 

 this water the plants. 



The Eutoca is an easily grown Californian 

 annual, with bright, intensely blue flowers. 

 The plants are rather coarse-looking, but being 

 easily grown, and the flowers good tor cutting, 

 it is worth giving a place sometimes. Branches 

 set in water will continue to flower for weeks. 



Still Ahead. Wife — "There! the paper sa3's 

 that the Redwood family, out in the Yosemite 

 valley, are often seen with trunks forty feet in 

 diameter. Now, don't you ever complain of 

 the size of my trunks again, Richard. These 

 Redwoods aren't much of a family, either. I 

 never heard of them." 



The power of example is often well shown in 

 gardening. A single enthusiastic amateur in 

 a neighborhood, will plant trees, improve his 

 lawn and set out some flowers and vines for a 

 year or two. Then others will take up the 

 same course in a small way, and very soon the 

 signs of such improvements will appear through- 

 out the entire village or region. 



It makes a difference where the break comes 

 in. The florist's heart warms with gladness 

 when his plants break forth in vigorous growth. 

 But when some panes of the greenhouse glass 

 overhead crack and break under the weight 

 of prowling cats, on some cold winter night, 

 it's perfectly shocking how the chills run down 

 his hack — through the house. 



In grading your lawn, keep in mind that you 

 work to please the sense of sight, but that this 



sense is often deceptive. To bring the surface 

 to a true plane, for instance, there would really 

 be the appearance of sagging through the 

 center, and this is not pleasant to see. The 

 remedy is obvious ; finish each plat to be a little 

 crowning, at least, in the middle parts. 



February Numbers Wanted. The call for our 

 February issue was so heavy, that before we 

 were aware of it, our stock was very low, and 

 now we need some. Should any of our readers 

 happen to have copies on hand, in clean shape, 

 which they could spare, by returning such to 

 this office, we will be glad to advance their sub- 

 scriptions by two months on our books. 



Of what use are flowers and plants ? Let the 

 words of one of our readers answer : "Our 

 garden consists of two windows, and these in 

 the room of an invalid mother who is entirely 

 helpless. We cannot afford many luxuries, so 

 the plants are almost our only recreation, and 

 how much joy they do give. At this date 

 (Feb. 9) they are blooming beautifully." 



A Fair Offer. Mr. Benj. Hammond, the 

 maker of Hammond's Slug-Shot Insecticide, 

 takes a most effectual waj' of silencing those 

 who are disposed to question his claims as to 

 its great worth. He comes right out and offers 

 every reader who wishes to know the article, a 

 .5 pound package as a sample, if they %vill but 

 pay the transportation charges. There readers ! 

 you have what we call a straight and business- 

 like offer, with no risk to run on your part. 

 His address is Fishkill-on-Hudson, N. Y. 



Nasturtiums. What could be more delight- 

 ful than an abundance of the sweet, fragrant 

 and bright-colored flowers of these, for the 

 table next summer '. Most easily secured. Sow 

 the seed any time during the spring in common 

 garden soil ; they will soon start up, and after 

 a brief spell will begin to bloom abundantly, 

 giving an endless number of fine long-stemmed 

 flowers for months. A mixture of good seerl 

 can be bought for about 15 cts. an ounce. Here 

 is something for the children to take a hold of. 



Talks About Flowers. Our readei-s are a 

 cla.ss who enjo.y "talks," of this kind, as we 

 happen to know very well. So we take pleasure 

 in introducing to their notice the charming 

 little book by this name, written by our corres- 

 pondent, Mrs. M. D. Wellcome, of Y'armouth, 

 Maine. It is just what its name indicates, while 

 the language is direct, comprehensive, sensible, 

 and deals practically with several scores of sub- 

 jects. There are 101 pages. Mrs. Wellcome is 

 her ovm publisher, to whom orders for the book 

 should be addressed. 



Gardening is capable of affording pleasures 

 which nothing else can do. Friends of W. K. 

 Vanderbilt say that he is arranging plans 

 which promise him a vast deal of substantial 

 pleasure. He will sever his connection with a 

 good many business cares, will abandon specu- 

 lation, and establish one of the finest country 

 residences known to this land, where he will 

 devote much of his time to leisure. We beUeve 

 that in time, such a course will be followed 

 much more largely than at present, by many of 

 our men of wealth. 



Plant Culture at the South. Mrs. L. M. H., 

 Atlanta, Ga., has this to say about her plants 

 under date of Dec. 25th last : ' ' M3- Wax plant 

 has done remarkably well. A year ago last 

 August it was a cutting without root : now it 

 has two main runners several yards in length, 

 with some side ones also. It seems as though 

 it would certainly bloom by the time it is two 

 years old. Last summer my plants all did 

 very well. Among these were the Sceirlet 

 Tecoma and the Night^blooming Jasmine, the 

 latter with its sweet odor perfuming the house 

 and grounds, from evening through the night." 



Smilaz. A two line allusion to this plant in 

 the house, in the February issue, has aroused 

 sevei'al readers to inquire as to the essentials 

 to its successful culture. A long experience in 

 growing the plant leads us to answer as follows : 

 It delights in a moderately damp atmosphere, 

 with a uniform temperature of between 50° 

 and 60' ; it dislikes a dry heat and dust. 



