1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



17 



out, anil uuothcr clinrRC to be put in. A mera- 

 iK-r sfntos that it is sulllcient to put the soil 

 mi'ivly on a system of steam pipes i>lace<l <liix-ctly 

 upon tho level sfrouml. 



A«.vvWniiTHK Faoed I!ia)OM. The newly 

 oleeteil piisident, Mr. Jordan, calls particular 

 attention to it, tliat in order to prolong the season 

 of plants which seeti freely, the tlowers should 

 lie picked clean, no matter whether they can lie 

 utili«'d for sale or are in excess. Hollyhocks, 

 for instance, when thus treated, oui be kept in 

 bloom until (ictolnr. This is also the case with 

 t^wiH't Peas and other tlowers. 



SrMMEK lli.ooMKRS. Mr. A. E Whittle gave a 

 list of sinnraer bloomintr plants which can be put 

 to )?ood use by the florist for cut llowers. Ex- 

 tract of paper will be given later on. 



Aphis in Gkeenuousk. Vice-iiresident Pal- 

 mer of Bufifalo explained his new method of pre- 

 venting aphis by evaporating Tobacco tea. Tin 

 troughs, or guttei-s, one inch wide and high, and 

 18 inches long, provided with a six inch strip of 

 tin near each of the lower corners, are placed 

 upon the steam or hot water pipes, about 20 feet 

 apart, and fastened upon them by simply bend- 

 ing the strips around the pipes, as shown in illus- 

 tration. These gutters are kept constantly filled 

 with the Tobacco tea, made by putting a barrel 

 half full of stems, and tilling it up with water. 

 The vapors constantly produced from the gut- 

 ters, although npither inconvenient to people, 

 nor injurious to plants, are entirely sufficient to 

 keep the hcmse free from aphis, and Mr. Palmer 

 has seen no necessity of resorting to the always 

 inconvenient, and sometimes injurious practice 

 of fumigating since adopting this new method. 



Water Gas for Florists' Use. 



Paper by J. T. Tcmph', read before the Ameriean So- 

 ciety of FtortAts ) 



The subject of e.xperiments with water 

 gas tor florists' use, is one of great Interest, 

 but yet in a rather crude state. -\t the pre- 

 sent time I do not know any instance where 

 it is in use by florists. Florists who use 

 natural gas, know how clean it is, and also 

 the little attention it requires. It is the 

 same with water gas. The expense of leav- 

 ing mains to supply Indtvlduals is the great 

 obstacle to its general use. 



There are two kinds of water gas, one for illu- 

 minating and the other for fuel. Water gas for 

 Uluminting in various localities, costs from BO 

 cents to il.m. water gas for fuel costs from 10 

 cent* to 30 cents per 1,000 feet. Owing to its be- 

 ing inodorous it has been sometimes deluted 

 with something to give it a scent, otherwise it 

 might cause great damage through leakage. 

 Since last January, I have been watching experi- 

 ments made at a neighbor's, who at a cost of 80 

 cents for 24 hours heated a boiler containing BO 

 gallons of water ui 2) minutes to boiling heat 

 with illuminating gas and kept it at that temper- 

 ature for 3i hours without further attention. 

 The same boiler with fuel gas at 30 cents per 

 1,1X10 feet did the same work at a cost of 22 cents 

 per 24 hours. I h:ive also been watching experi- 

 ments in a foundry where the fuel gas was made 

 with water and naptha to give it greater heat 

 and found it gives them satisfaction, but the ex- 

 pense is too great for florists' use. It is expected 

 as the result of experiments by Westinghouse 

 and others, that water gas for fuel will in the 

 near future superc-ede coal and natural gas, and 

 at less expense. 



CONDENSED GLEANINGS. 



Development of Colors in Plants. Prof. Sorby 

 tells us that all the colors of plants are simple 

 modifications of ordinary green coloring— or 

 chlorophyl— of the leaves; this green coloring be- 

 ing the practical working color of the plant, and 

 all other hues are formed out of it by oxidiza- 

 tion, and sene some definite object or use. H(jw 

 this development takes place from the lowest, or 

 working color, green, to the highest specialised 

 color, viz., blue, will be best shown in the accom- 

 panying diagram, by the circular arrow. Some- 

 times yellow flowers become white and after- 

 wards tinged with red and purple, without pass- 

 mg through the orange [stage as many others 

 normally do. In reference to this diagram let us 

 remember that the Hellebores and Buttercups 

 var.v from green to yellow; Zinnias and other 

 flowers from yellow and orange to red, and the 

 Forget-me-not and Comf reys very often show all 

 the gradations of color from red t« blue— their 



flowere opening rod in the bud stage, and finally 

 pa.ssing to blue at their full development. The 

 chemical changes which lake place.in the chloro- 

 phyll as exposed to light, heat, air and moist- 

 ure are exceedingly subtle ones, and not yet 

 thoroughly understood, but now the subject is 

 Ix'ing tivated to scientific ivsearch, we may soon 

 hope tor even this great mystery to be solved, 

 and then the gardener in the wiser years to come 

 will be enablcil to alter the colors of his favorite 

 flowers more rapidly than now, by carrying on 

 Nature's work on (juicker and more direct lines. 

 —Amateur Oarilening. 



The Kipening of Pears, Most summer Pears 

 cannot be trusted to ripen full.v on the tree; the 

 open wind and sunshine carry away their deli 

 cate aroma and flavor. As fast as they begin to 



-> 



PURPLE,'' 



/ 



W 



^° 



I I 



red',^^ ^(yellow 



V ~-.^ WHITE __-<55v^' 



/ 



/ 



^^ ^^ 



ORANGE 



DEVELOPMENT OF COLORS IN PLANTS. 



show the color of maturity they should be picked 

 and placed in still air, not too dry, there quietly 

 to complete the changes which develop sweet- 

 ness and fine flavor. But even there the flavor 

 soon dissipates, and to enjoy it each Pear must 

 be eaten just as soon as ripeness is complete, for 

 decay immediately follows. No fruit is finer 

 than a fine Pear so managed. A good test of 

 their being fit to pick is when the stem separates 

 from the spur on which it grew by its natural 

 dissepiment. If the stem is broken elsewhere it 

 will leak, and the fruit will begin to shrivel, and 

 will lose t)uality. Winter Pears are treated sim- 

 ilarly. They should be left on the tree as long 

 as safe from frost and then placed on a tray in a 

 cool cellar and covered with a cloth or otherwise 

 to keep the air still about them. Some sorts, 

 most unpromising when taken in, develop fine 

 color and delicious quality if patiently left thus 

 protected to the slow processes of change, which 

 bring on final maturity. The proper cellar tem- 

 perature is a few degrees above freezing, but as 

 the Pears show color they should be taken to a 

 warm room to develop full flavor, still wrapped 

 orcoVered to prevent shriveling.— N. Y. Tribune. 



Barron's Tree Transplanter, At the great 

 show at Windsor, Barron's famous tree trans- 

 planter was seen in one part of the grounds. 

 Here suspended some l.s or 20 inches above the 

 ground, in the middle of a huge vehicle resem- 

 bling a big timber caiTiage, was seen a fine 

 Scotch Fir some 40 feet in height, which had 

 some ten days previously been lifted by the ma- 

 chine at Ascot, and brought to the show yard, 

 so that the practical value of the lifter might 

 be thus exemplified. We saw the tree after it 

 had been in this novel position for several days, 

 and exposed to the full glare of almost tropical 

 sunshine, yet there it still hung, suspended 

 upon the Ijearers by stout chains, the roots be- 

 neath and at the sides somewhat protected from 

 the sun rays by mats, but none the less, not a 

 twig hung, and not a branch flagged ; in fact it 

 seemed as though it had grown on the machine 

 for years and liked it. The entile tree and ball 

 of soil weighed several tons. Occasionally a few 

 buckets of water were thrown over the grassy 

 surface of the ball to keep it moist.— Gard. World. 



Southern Opportunities. People should not 

 come here with the idea that they can make a 

 living without proper effort on then' part, or 

 without a fair expenditure of money or brain 

 power. The climate will help out a little, it is 

 true. Good .soil and a plentiful rainfall and com- 

 I>arative e.xemption from insect pests will help 

 one materially to make a living. There are hun- 

 dreds of things that will help out a little and 

 give a man great advantage over those living at 

 the North, but these advantages will not avail 

 unless a man does his part first. He must in- 

 telligently prepare the ground, select and plant 

 the seed and cultivate the soil with due regard 

 to agricultural laws. He must thoroughly 

 possess his farm. He must ride his business or 

 his business will ride him. He must make hay 



while the sun shines. The same agricultural 

 laws arc in force here as elsewhere, with these 

 adv antages : Long growing seasons, short, mild 

 wiiitci's, a soil easy to cultivate, and very pro- 

 ductive when properly handled, line roads, low 

 taxes and cheap fieight rates.- Cornucopia. 



Curing Tomato Seed. None hut the best To- 

 matoes should be selected for seed to be sold to 

 the trade. When thoroughly ripe, the Tomatoes 

 should be ground uj) by some sort of process, 

 either by bruising them with a pestle or by run- 

 ning them through a cider mill or something 

 similar. The next day the seed is ready to be 

 separated from the pulp, and the cleaning con- 

 tinued for two or three days after the grinding, 

 without any injury to the seed. Now run the 

 pulp with the seed, through a No, 4 sieve, by 

 adding plenty of water as it passes through the 

 sieve, into a tub or receptacle used for holding 

 the seed. It should then be taken out and spread 

 on a drying cloth and left till thoroughly dry. 

 The seed will now be more or less stuck together 

 but can be separated by rubbing, though a 

 more rapid plan is to run it through a threshing 

 cylinder. Now run the seed through a fanning 

 mill and the seed be ready for market.— Cal. Fl. 

 Coal Ashes for Mulch. There can be no doubt 

 that coal ashes spread under fruit trees are often 

 very helpful. One way they help is to make a 

 mulch. Coal ashes are light, and the fact that 

 they have not much manurial value makes them 

 all the better for keeping down grass, which de- 

 pletes the soil of the moisture that the trees 

 need. Three or four inches deep of coal ashes 

 spread under the trees keep the soil beneath 

 moist and cool. If they are spread on sod they 

 kill the grass, and this, with the decaying sod 

 roots, makes a fine feeding place for the roots of 

 the tree. It is probable, also, that under this 

 mulch the soil itself undergoes important chemi- 

 cal changes, fitting its manurial elements for ab- 

 sorption by roots.— Rural Canadian. 



Staking Herbaceous Plants. If satisfactory 

 results are to be obtained, quite as much time 

 must be spent on a garden of herbaceous plants 

 as on the elaboi-ate foi-ms of bedding out, but 

 then it is more enduring, and of more interest 

 from the constant change of flowers. Much will 

 require to be done in the way of staking and ty- 

 ing. Pa^onies are getting top heavy with flower 

 buds, and generally a single stake will be found 

 enough for a large plant, looping up the stems 

 lightly. The same applies to Delphiniums, but 

 these grow so strong and tall that extra stout 

 stakes are required, and instead of matting, 

 strong string is better. Other tall herbaceous 

 plants need the same attention.- Gardrs' Chron. 



Forcing Lily of the Valley, We arranged a 

 bench with moss, good bottom heat, cotton cloth 

 covering, etc., and our crop of flowers wasmerel.v 

 fair. As we had more irips to start we put the 

 balance into a couple of shallow boxes, covered 

 with a light mulching of Moss and set under 

 a bench in a warm house, setting the boxes on 

 the pipes and gave no further care other than 

 watering. To our surprise these came far better 

 than the others. We now grow all our Valley in 

 this simple way. The boxes can be had from any 

 grocer at five cents each, and thej' will hold KO 

 pips. The saving in bench room is considerable. 

 There has been no Valley grown in this city finer 

 than oui-s forced in this simple way.— Am. Florist. 



The Angouleme Pe ar. This Pear, among cul- 

 tivators of dwarf orchards, is as widely known 

 and as popular as the Bartlett among standards 

 or as the Baldwin among Apples. Its large size 

 adds to its popularity, and its excellence in 

 quality is increased by adding to its size by good 

 cultivation. When neglected so much that the 

 specimens did not weigh four ounces, they were 

 no better than a Turnip. When weighing a pound 

 they are delicious. The hardiness of the tree is 

 one of the most valuable qualities. It is rarely 

 destroyed by fire-blight.— Country Gentleman. 



The Color of Drain Tile, A well-burned tile 

 will not dissolve when once safely underground, 

 whatever its color Nor is it any better for being 

 burned until it is black. Red color in tile or 

 brick is evidence of iron in the clay from which 

 they are made. The Cit.v of Milwaukee is built 

 of cream-colored brick. The clay near that city 

 does not contain iron, but the brick is just as 

 durable under extreme cold as any other. All 

 tile are more or less porous, and if filled with 

 water will crumble and break if frozen in that 

 condition.— Am. Cultivator. 



To Preserve Flowers, Ladies who surround 

 the stems of their corsage bouquets with moist- 

 ened powdered Willow charcoal, which may in 



