i886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



89 



until the vines begin to run freely, then hill up 

 and lay by. It is as well not to permit the 

 vines to take root lietween the rows, as this 

 will diminish the crop. Loosen up the vines 

 occasionally. A fork hoe is good for the pur- 

 pose. Just liefore or soon after the frost in the 

 fall, dig the potatoes and store away in a dry, 

 warm place for winter. In the South, a good 

 way to do this, is to select a spot on the ground 

 where water will not stand, and throw up the 

 earth three or four inches above the natural 

 surface, in a circular shape, about four or five 

 feet in diameter: press down firmly, and on 

 this, place twenty-five or thii-ty bushels of po- 

 tatoes piled up in a cone-shajje, shai-p at the 

 top, cover with corn stalks or gi-ass two or 

 three inches thick, then cover with eai-th six or 

 eight inches deep. Place a few boards over the 

 top to keep rain out. Make as many of these 

 banks as you please. In the Northern States 

 it is advisable to store in some good, warm, 

 dry cellar. Leave the top of the bank open 

 a day or two, as the potatoes will sweat some- 

 what when first banked ; after this cover up 

 entirely. Be sm-e to keep them wanu. The 

 vines make very good cattle feed. Most of the 

 cultivation may be done with a plow. — M. W. 

 ./., iti Anwrican Aifriculturist. 



Sweet, or Sugar Corn. 



No kitchen garden should be without this 

 rich and delicious vegetable, unless the product 

 in its green state maj' be bought for a reason- 

 able price. By proper management as regards 

 the time of planting it may be had on the table 

 from July until frost. The first planting 

 should be made before the middle of May, and 

 be followed by others at intervals of three 

 weeks, until the latter part of July. 



All varieties of Sweet, or Sugar Corn, may be 

 either sown in rows four and a half feet apart, 

 and the seeds placed about eight inches apai't 

 in the rows, or planted in hills at distances of 

 three or four feet each way, according to the 

 variety grown or the richness of the soil. 

 The taller the variety, or the richer the soil, 

 the greater should be the distance apart. 



A well-worked light loam is the be.st for Com. 

 While it may succeed in some that is disposed 

 to lie heavy, provided it is well drained, still 

 for an early crop it should go onlj' on that of a 

 light nature. It is desirable to have it at least 

 moderately rich by the use of well-rotted ma- 

 nure appUed before planting. Bone dust, used 

 at the rate of 'M) or 4(KJ pounds to the acre, 

 answers a good purpose as a fertilizer. 



Numerous varieties of Sweet, or Sugar Corn, 

 are offered by seedsmen. Among the more 

 recent ones introduced, the New Egypt (illus- 

 trated herewith) is highly spoken of. Concern- 

 ing this variety, Peter Hendereou & Co. say, in 

 their last catalogue ; The ear is of large size, 

 and the flavor peculiarly rich and sweet, and so 

 superior that hotels and families using it will 

 have no other kind as long as this variety is to 

 be had. The introilucer, who is a large grower 

 and canner of corn, states that the superiority 

 of this vai'iety is so well understood in his 

 neighborhood, that the prices he receives for it, 

 both in the canned and green state, wiU aver- 

 age nearly one-half more than he can obtain for 

 any other sort he grows. Like all other large 

 sorts, it matures late. 



About Some Summer Flowering 

 Bulbs. 



BY SIRS. T. L. NELSON OF WORCESTER, MASS. 



Some of the summer-blooming bulbs are bet- 

 ter kept in pots or tubs. There are many 

 places in the garden and about the house where 

 a pot of Valliilri jiurptirra is very ornamental. 

 Amiiriillis luli'n is a hardy variety, blooming 

 in early autumn when yellow flowers are 

 scarce. A. Hallli is a lovely pink variety, 

 blooming in August. The Zephyranthes in all 

 its varieties of pink and white is desirable. 

 They require no care beyond planting in 



spring, digging up in autumn, and storing in 

 a dry place. .-1. Hi'llitdonna^ major, mhiur, 

 and nllia, are all summer -blooming bulbs. 

 They flower in August and September, and re- 

 quire entire rest after tliey have matured their 

 foliage. Aiiuiryllis Jnfnisintii will bloom in 

 the ground, and is used by some to lied out in 

 the sununer bj- keeping the bulb dormant 

 through the winter. Isnirnr nihifliinii is beau- 

 tiful in the garden, the plant being fine with- 

 out the flower, i 'Imrrtis aflnis and J'lfuciuithnn 

 I'dlKfliiiiuiii, like all those mentioned in this 

 paragraph, belong to the Amaryllis family, 

 and require the same general treatment. 



The Tuberose is as ca.sil}- flowered in the 

 ground as any other bulb, but as it takes about 

 four months to bring it into flowering, it must 



NEW EGYPT SUGAR CORN. 



be started either in a hot-bed or a greenhouse ; 

 but if you have neither of these, plant the 

 bulbs, after the ground is thoroughly warmed, 

 in a sunny place, and after they have started 

 give plenty of water. When they are well 

 budded, pot them in rich soil, so that they can 

 be removed to shelter when in danger of frost. 

 Tritoina umrin (jrandifloni (Red-hot Poker) 

 and Hjittritifhus canfJiransRve two conspicuous 

 plants which form a fine contrast to each other. 

 Agnp<fnfhtt:< iiinhi'Hatusinone of the few I'eally 

 blue flowers. It does well taken from the pot 

 and planted in the border. Calndhiin t'scitlfn- 

 tum, RiclKirdiii alba maculntd (a very orna- 

 mental species of Birhnrdiii .I'Jtliinjiicd, our 

 common callal and A}nitrphophidtus li i re rii are 

 desirable plants. The Tit/ridiiis (Tiger flowers) 

 in the different varieties, are all showy. T. 

 rjrnndifiura allui forms a beautiful contrast to 

 T. cintrhijfnra and T. P(n-oniti. MiUfi fn'/fora 

 is quite new, and has slender, rush-like foliage, 

 and white tulmlar star-shaped flowers, on long 

 slender stems. The Dahlia is a very imjiortant 

 tuberous-rooted plant; its oidy drawba<"k is 

 that it requires too much room to grow it ; but 

 there are places where such plants are very 

 much needed, and the jiompons and single 

 varieties are esjiecially desirable. — Krinict 

 from an essay contribidcd to llw Mas.'tttfhusetts 

 Horticultural Society on February VSfh. 



Deep Planting. People who set out orna- 

 mental trees, or for that matter, any kind of 

 trees, shrubs, or flowers, often have a notion 

 that very deep planting is beneficial. Scarcely 

 an}' thing could bo fartliei- from the truth. It one 

 is setting out kiiuls that have heavy tap I'oots, 

 like Oaks or Standard Pears, in lightish soils, 

 it does not matter so much, but with the ma- 

 jority of kinds, to set them deejier than they 

 grew in the nursery is decirledly hurtful. 

 Especially such fibrous rooters as Maples and 

 Ashes should Ix' kept quite near to the surface, 

 while things whic-h have a mass of fine roots, 

 such as Rhododendrons and Azaleas, need to 

 be kept almost on top of the surface, unless 

 growing in very light soil. The clump of 

 roots in a Rhododendron should as a rule be 

 only partly bedded into the eai'th, and then, 

 bringing a low mound of soil over the roots, 

 to beat it down quite firm. 



Forced Fruits and Vegetables. On the 1st of 

 Febniary a reporter of a Philadelphia paper 

 found that Strawberries, of the Sharpless va- 

 riety, grown in a Wilmington, Del, hot-house, 

 brought ?!7 per quart. "They are also received 

 from New York State. Ordinary-size<l Cucum- 

 bers, from the Continental Hotel farm, raised 

 in hot-beds, sell for 7.5 cents each. For New 

 Jersey hot-house peaches of not unusual size, 

 the sum of SI. 50 each is asked. The sales of 

 these are said to be slow. Continental Hotel 

 hot-house Asparagus is also on sale at .lO cents 

 per bunch. A Wilmington, Del., hot-house 

 also furnishes ripe Tomatoes, for which iSO 

 cents per pound is asked. Winter hot-house 

 (xrajjes, it is said, are about gone, and the 

 spring production will not be here until May. 

 City-grown Mushrooms are also on sale at 7.5 

 cents per quart." — G'irdriters' Monthly. 



Label the Trees. There is great satisfaction in 

 having all trees and shrubs properly labeled, a mat- 

 ter often neglected. The labels that come on the 

 trees from the nursery should not be reUed on, as 

 the names soon wash off. These also are fastened 

 on with wire, and that, too, is an objection, for in 

 time as the branches enlarge the wire is liable to be- 

 come filled out. cut into the gi'owiiig branch, and 

 kill it sooner or later if not removed. Sheet zinc 

 cut in the form of a long tapering wedge, makes the 

 best cheap label we know of, being indestnictible, 

 easily applied, and can never injure the tree by 

 strangulation if rightly put on. This is done in the 

 easiest possible way by merely coiling the tapering 

 end around a small branch several times, and thus 

 it will yield to the increase of the size The writing 

 may be done with a common lead pencil, and will 

 increase in distinctness with time. 



Horse-radish, The best product comes from ver^- 

 rich gr.iund. The roots to be set in starting a plan- 

 tation should be strong ones, but these may be cut 

 into lengths of less than an inch each. In planting, 

 a hole at least a foot deep, should be made with a 

 crowbar or stake, and one piece deposited at tlie 

 bottom, filliug up the hole afterwards. The root 

 will easily find the surface and make a straight, 

 clean root in the future. 



Keep the Tools Clean. This is a lesson for the 

 boys to learn, and also for some men. Loss of time, 

 strength, and satisfaction in doing the work must be 

 endiu-ed. if it is not dune. It takes but little time; 

 its neglect is a sure sign of a poor or slovenly gar- 

 dener Now then, boys, fix upon good habits in this 

 matter as well as in others. 



Unpleasant as is the sight of fruit-robbing by 

 bu-ds, it should be remembered, that all in all, they 

 do vastly more good in the insects they kill than 

 harm by the other. Even those kinds which Uve 

 partly on insects and partlj- on vegetable substances 

 destroy inuuensc quantities of insects, particular!}' ' 

 in the spring, fiir feeding their young. 



Some Strawberries may be ripened earlier by 

 placing sash over a part of the bed, resting them on 

 a frame, or even on bricks or stakes. 



Burning a light layer of straw on Strawberry 

 plants, it is said, wilt kill many injurious bugs. 



The toad is a garden a,ssistant ; he dest roys t wenty 

 to thirty insects jier hour. l)ou"t kill the toad. 



While the cuttins; season of Asparagus lasts, no 

 shoots shoukl lie allowed to grow. 

 Give Peas limsh before they aresi.x inches high. 

 A white Black Ciu-rant is aunounce<I. 

 The Apple hkes a rich soil. 

 Weeds consume profits. 



