1 886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



m 



Those careful growers who systematically 

 scrub the bodies and larj^er limbs of pear trees 

 with thick soap-suds and sulphur speak highly 

 of the results to the ensuing crop of fruit, as 

 well as to the health and vigor of the tree. 

 Syringing with alkalies in solution has been of 

 good service in exterminating insects, promcit- 

 ing growth, and checking the progi-ess of such 

 diseases of a fungal character. 



This is the direction that careful experiments 

 should take if we desire to improve the standard 

 of qualities and to eradicate from orchards the 

 worst pests we now have to contend with. 



Summer Waste of Manure. For a property- 

 holder to touch a match to fence. out-huildhigorlum- 

 her iiile aud then stand and watch it go up in smoke, 

 the act would be taken as proof of a madman. 

 \\niat of the tiller of the earth who deliberately 

 lets the precious value of his manure pile go off 

 into the air in the shape of pungent ammonia of 

 high fertilizing (ivuility. This happens very com- 

 monly, about as often we think as the talk of 

 "no profit in gardening," At this season the sun 

 hastens fermentation; so now look out to prevent 

 this escape of vohitile matter and "fire fang. The 

 simplest way to avoid this waste is to pump liquid 

 manure or even to run w^ater over the heap— not too 

 much to wash it. but just sufficiently to arrest active 

 fermentation. Consolidation of the manure heap 

 is a good thing. To mix different kinds of manure 

 together is another help— cow dung, for example. 

 requires something to help it to ferment. Dry 

 eai'th, muck or gypsum may also be suggested for 

 preventing the escape of ammonia, by mixing it 

 freely with the manure. By one means or another 

 let every sul-Ii wliolee^ale waste be promjitly stopped. 

 The Days of the Cabbage Worm are numbered 

 it would seem. They have, according to Prof. 

 Forbes of the Illinois Department of Agricidture. 

 been clearly less abundant in many sections during 

 the piist season than previouslj'. This ditference is 

 due apparently to a destructive disease of the worm, 

 which was first reported on in 188'-i. Hopes are en- 

 tertained by some of our wide-awake entomologists 

 that the disease may be propagated and extended 

 artifieially, and efforts are being directed towards 

 sucli a desirable end. It is. to say the least, encour- 

 aging to the gardener sometimes to find disease 

 and blight that work in his favor. 



Is the Watermelon King ? Comes not far from 

 it in certain places, it would seem. For instance, 

 steamers from some of the Southern ports have 

 been bringing 00.00(1 to 70.000 big Watermelons to 

 New York per trip. The freightage is 5 cents a 

 melon. Last season one company received S^.OOO 

 for Watermelon freight, and alone carried nearly 

 (iiX'.l^Ki of these juicy and " luscious univalves." 



The Jamestown Weed, Datura stramDuium, is 

 a near relative of the Tobacco. Thomas Meehan 

 says it is as good an insecticide as the latter. At 

 least lovers of the weed lose one good excuse for 

 their vile habits— smoking bugs off the plants— if 

 this lie so. 



Fruit Bores, such as " visit " your home only in 

 fruit time, bestowing attentions, more marked than 

 market, need trealnient. Be courteous of course, 

 but don't forget to charge fidl retail price for the 

 fine fruit consumed, wasted and carried away. 



Planting After Fifty. Henry Ward Beecher 

 says that he never planted at Peekskill any Pears 

 till after he was fifty, and he has picked good crops 

 of Pears for the la.st twelve years, Such experi- 

 ences are not rare. 



The Cherry-tree stands being planted along 

 lanes and roadsi<les, where there is a passing of 

 vehicles and tramping of stock, better than most 

 othei* kinds of fruit trees. 



The Smoke theory— keeping away frosts by 

 nuakinp: smudges in the field— seems hke many 

 another theory to have gone up in smoke. 



Whoever plants the .James Vick Strawberry 

 must understand that, like all similarly prolific sorts, 

 it must have high feeding. 



Even Potatoes have rights. It is injustice to their 

 quality to leave them king undug after they are ripe. 

 Fruit for jelly is better for being picked before 

 it is dead ripe. 



Let Us Add This : Have regard to the morals of 

 tile liiTed help. 

 Radishes for winter may yet be sown. 

 In Gathering (irapes try scissors. 

 Reset Rhubarb in early autumn. 

 A Good time for draining. 

 Hand-pick Pears always. 

 Dry the surplus Linias. 



Thistle Down, 



Now lightly Hoats yon Thistle Itown, 



By wand'ring breezes blown; 

 Gay, careless rovers of the air, 



With source and goal unknown. 

 But in their silvery filaments 



Deep moral we may read; 

 Upon eacli airy, reckless fiight. 



Is borne a living seed. 



— Kiiniiii Curli'ton. 



Tea Roses are improving. 



A fancy affair— the rtoral fan. 



There is a cream-colored Golden-rod. 



China Pinks make bright table bouquets. 



Now the outdoor tlower supply begins to shorten. 



As a funeral design, the wreath plain and simple, 

 but made up )o<isely, is gaining favor. 



Half the charm of cut flowers is lost if these be 

 crowded into bouquets. To prevent crowding we 

 know of nothing better than the free use of long- 

 stem mignonette for the foundation, between and 

 back of the other flowers. 



Ivy has been very much used in decoration dur- 

 ing the past season. The variegated forms are espe- 

 cially lovely, either for draping tables and mirrore. 

 or as a background. Smilax has been so lavishly 

 used in the past that now it is rather out of date in 

 the larger cities. 



Rush ornaments for holding Howers ai-e being 

 made in tlie form uf hats inverted, and fixed on a 

 tripod; they are filled with a mass of Poppies or 

 Sweet Peas, and have a large bow of harmonizing 

 ribbon tied on the tripod. Rush wheel-barrows are 

 filled with similar flowers. 



The boutonniere for the coat lappel has always 

 been much worn iu England. This may account for 

 their increased wear here— it's English, you know. 

 However that may be, it is no strange sight to see 

 all the way from two to half a dozen flaming Carna- 

 tions now projecting from the button-hole of 

 a fashionable man's coat. 



The wearing of flowers in the hair is coming 

 much in vogue. Flower aigrettes are the prevail- 

 ing mode A tuft of Osprey is introduced among 

 the natural blooms, and diamonds are displayed as 

 dewdrops sparkling on freshly gatliered Roses. On 

 the corsage large sprays of flowers and foliage are 

 dis}>layed, and long trails decorate the skirt. 



The Floral Muffs carried by English bridesmaids 

 iu the late spring do not seem to have come very 

 much in vogue here yet, A New York wedding 

 guest, wearing a golden-brown gown slightly relieved 

 with mauve, carried a muff of Catlleya Mossife, 

 tied with a bow matching the dress exactly. 

 Another gown of moss-green was worn with a muff 

 of bright pink Geraniums tied with green ribbon. 



Flowers for the Sick. In our quiet little town a 

 " fiouer nnssion " has been started to send flowers 

 to our own weary sick ones, and once a month 

 to send flowers to the hospitals in Boston. I know 

 how these beauties cheer when the body is full of 

 pain, and I hope 1 shall be successful in having a 

 garden prolific in blooms, that I may help gladden 

 other hearts as mine has so often been by floral 

 gifts.— "Troorf^nf/'." in. Parks' Magazine. 



Instead of bouquets, brides now carry loose 

 posies, exquisitt-ly informal in arrangement One 

 beautiful '" posy " was of JIarechal Neil Roses, tied 

 with loops of salmon-pink ribbon; another of Blnsh 

 Roses, tied with crimson velvet. These bunches 

 share with floral fans the public favor. Of the 

 latter, a pretty specimen had a foundation of Bram- 

 ble, partially covered with pale Blush Roses; a white 

 satin bow nestled among the blossoms and a tiny 

 Brazilian be«,le rested on one petal, as if it had just 

 alighted there. 



Table Spreads and Flowers. Table i-ioths which 

 were most dist^ouraging to the florist, are now stig- 

 matized as bad taste: junv white linen isoncemore 

 visible, but as society must have novelty, table 

 decorations are very elaborate. ( >ne table described, 

 is covered with finest damask. Half a yard around 

 the edge is left clear: then comes a boi'derof russet 

 brown leaves enclosing a plane of glowing crimson 

 foliage. On this flame-colored ground, with the 

 stands hiddeti, are small vases of while china, filled 

 with light sprays of yellow flowers, any fine kinds 

 that are seasonable, with their own leaves. 



Dofe^nic^lOvid^et 



Cultivate the habit of seeing correctly. 



As roots l>c'i-nnie li.nrd tlie root-hairs die. 



Color and fragrance are the tlDwers' advertis- 

 llli'lits tci ilisi'cls. /,'.(/7i;/. 



The American White Pine is sai<l to have the 

 liglitest Kinvity of all lonifi-rmis woods. 



The revolving of the shoots of twiners is caused 

 l>y tile plain, cells on one side assumini; a greater 

 lenj^tli tlian on the other. 



Flora of Greenland. A French botanist. M. Ruys- 

 man, has enuinerate<l :178 species of |ilants growing 

 in Greenland, and he finds that they resemble those 

 of Lapland more than lliose of Northern .\niericau. 



Once a familiarity with tlie common parts of 

 plants anil llu-jr botanical names, such as petal, 

 sepal, stamen, calyx and so on is accinired, and it 

 is not difflcult for intelligent beginners, or even 

 children, to begin to analyze and classify the more 

 simple plants. 



The botanists in attendance at the meeting of 

 the American .Association of Natural Sciences, in 

 this city recently, numbered considerably upwards 

 of one hundred, which fact leslilies to liie growing 

 interest in this branch of biology. Daily meetings 

 of the .section were held, all of which were largely 

 attended, and much enthusiasm prevailed. At these 

 meetings essays on botanical matters were read and 

 discussed. The club enjoyed excursions to the 

 shore of Lake Erie, Canada side, Niagara Falls and 

 to Chautauqua Lake. Mention must also be made 

 of the botanical reception at the house of our able 

 local botanist, the Hon. David F. Day, of this city. 



The weeds we have with us always. This state- 

 ment is indeed near the truth, there being some 

 marked exceptions in the eases of a very few very- 

 clean cultivators of the land. Professor Lazenby, 

 of the Ohio Experiment Stat.ion,Columbus,Ohio, has 

 gone to great pains to show why weeds are so per- 

 sistent in their presence; this by counting and 

 closely estimating on the seeds of some of the more 

 common ones. As to results he found on one plant 

 of the everj-where abundant .Shepherd's Purse 

 (Capsella Bnrsii-j>ast(iris\ ",.'500 seeds : on a rank 

 Burdock (Lajjpii inajiir) 40CI,3aS seeds: on a large 

 Wild Parsnip W.OOI.), and many other kinds were 

 nearly as numerous as those of the ones named. 



Educational Collections. No one can take ex- 

 ception to that kind of inoffensive advertising en- 

 terprise which in itself proves a direct public bene- 

 fit. t)f this character is a step lately taken by the 

 seed house of Messrs. Sutton & Co., Reading, En- 

 gland. They have fitted up many handsome cases 

 containing samples of the dried plants and seeds 

 of the grasses of England. These cases have been 

 presented by Messrs. Sutton to a large number of 

 nurseries and agricultural institutes at home and 

 abroad. The especial convenience of students in 

 botany has been aimed at by enclosing the dried 

 specimens in cylinders of clear glass, each one of 

 which is accurately labeled. The seeds are some- 

 what similarlj' placed iu smaller cylinders or bot- 

 tles. Here is an idea for some of our American 

 seed houses to adopt, whereby tliey could do them- 

 selves much good at the same time that they would 

 become public teachers. Some such a collection 

 would be of vast benefit in every public school. A 

 demand once started for cases of specimens like 

 these, and it would be strange if many could not 

 also be sold outrightly. 



The Tendrils of Cucurbitaceous Plants. Mr. 

 Duchartre has made the following curious observa- 

 tions on the tendrils of cucurbitaceous plants. Out 

 of 2a species examineil by him it was found that U 

 had tendrils that were quite straiglit in the very 

 young state, and remained so during their develop- 

 ment; and in eight species only were the tendrils 

 spirally rolled from their first appearance and be- 

 fore they had come into contact with any foreign 

 body, -\niong these latter are included the Pump- 

 kin {Cucurhita pepo\ and the Bryony \Bryiniiii 

 dioica). It is remarkable that, while the ordinary 

 forms of the Melon [Cticuints Meto) have their ten- 

 drils spirally developed from their very first appear- 

 ance, this is not the case with the variety Ert/thrtrns 

 of the same species, in wliich the tendrils are straight 

 fi-oui their earliest stage. Mr. Duchartre remarks 

 that the side of the tendril that grows most rapidly, 

 and thus causes it to assume the spiral form, con- 

 sists of much larger parenchymatous cells than 

 does the opjiosite side of the tendril. Among the 

 sjiecies that have straight tendrils from the first are 

 the Dishcloth (lourd I Lult'ii iiriitiiiuiuhitii), the Bal- 

 sam .\ppU' iMitnun-iih-a Biilfitimina} and Cyrtan- 

 theria exfiltxh'us. 



