32 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



November, 



soils where the water table is not far below 

 the surface and the subsoil open so that the 

 sun can and does draw up supplies of moist- 

 lu-e for the plants. In what was considered 

 waste land in Hampshire, too poor to grow 

 agricultural crops, Strawberries are pro- 

 duced in abundance, twenty tons a day often 

 being sent from one parish alone. Much of 

 the soil ill which Strawberries are grown is 

 reclaimed waste, the best containing pebbles 

 in abundance. 



Poorness as applied to the soil is a relative 

 term, and land that is deficient in the essen- 

 tials for agricultural crops — hence "poor" 

 for them — may contain the ingredients that 

 Strawberries need. What are they? For 

 answer we must look to the constituents ot ' 

 the plants and fruit. First they contain 

 about 90 per cent, of water; of mineral sub- 

 stances soda predominates over potash, , 

 though that is considerable, as is phosphor- 

 us, a good amount of lime, and an unusual 

 amount of silica and iron. Most of these in- 

 gredients are found in old sea beds, the re- 

 sult largely of marine deposits over, it may 

 be, millions of years in remote ages. And 

 as sand banks and gravel beds, no matter 

 what their altitude now, have been formed 

 by the washings and constitute the deposit 

 of primordial seas, we may expect them to 

 contain what Strawberries need, however 

 poor the drift may seem. 



Those gardens in which a large bulk of 

 manure is required for Strawberries have 

 usually a dry subsoil, and the added matter 

 contributes to the retention of moisture, and 

 at the same time imparts Ingredients which 

 the soil lacks and which Strawberries need. 

 In heavy and more or less damp soils in 

 which Strawberries do not grow and bear 

 satisfactorily, a liberal addition of,red gravel 

 or sand, with supplementary dressings of 

 kainit and superphosphate of lime, and in 

 dry seasons a sprinkling of salt, would, in 

 all probability, effect an improvement and 

 have a more beneficial effect than would re- 

 sult from gorging the land with ordinary 

 stable or tarmyard manure that may or may 

 not contain what the crop requires. 



roots in earth in a shallow box, place them 

 in a cellar and growth will be continued, 

 and the blanching process finished. 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



Fifth Paper. 



DR. J. STAYMAN, LEAVENWORTH CO., KANSAS. 



When the vines have filled the trellis be- 

 low, and require more room like the Cyn- 

 thiana and Norton that do not rot, two 

 canes should be trained to the top wire from 

 the center spurs of each vine to form arms 

 to be renewed each year the same as those 

 on the lower wire. This will give double 

 the space for each vine which can be ex- 



?^?Si^FS^ 



Cultivating Celery. 



WM. H. YEOMANS, TALLAND CO., CONN. 



Some garden crops are not grown by the 

 average farmer merely because he has the 

 impression that they required some special 

 skill or more aitentii^n than could be given 

 iu view of the general demands of the farm. 

 Among such is Celery; and while there are 

 some people who do not care for it, and so 

 neglect its cultivation, there are many more 

 who fearfailure, or at the least the labor and 

 time required in its cultivation, which as 

 they suppose makes it cost more than it is 

 worth. This last idea is erroneous. Very 

 satisfactory results may be secured even 

 with little if any extra labor. If the seed is 

 sown or planted in the spring, and the 

 plants are kept clean and watered if neces- 

 sary, the latter will attain size enough for 

 transplanting by the middle or last of July 

 without the frequent transplautings prac- 

 ticed by some for the purpose of developing 

 and strengthening root growth. Such a 

 course may be profitable when one has time 

 to spend in that way, because ot a more vig- 

 orous growth. If the young plants are kept 

 growing and attain a height ot three or four 

 inches by the first of August, and are then 

 transplanted to a trench iu which there is a 

 very liberal supply of rich, decomposed 

 manure, and kept watered until they get a 

 good start, if they do not produce good leaf 

 stalks we shall be very much inclined to 

 think there was some fault in some opera- 

 tion. During growth of course the earth 

 should be hauled up against the leaf stalks 

 so as to protect them and to secure a partial 

 blanching. If there is danger of severe 

 freezing, take the plants up and pack the 



Fig. 1. Fine in full hearing occupjfing upper «'tre, 

 with renewing canes over the top. Parts of the 

 adjoining vines on t/i« lower wire. 



tended each year until they fill the whole 

 space as may be seen in Fig. 2 which repre- 

 sents a strong vine in full bearing pruned 

 and tied to the upper and lower wires. 



The shoots from the lower spurs should 

 be left to bear fruit and their leaders should 

 be pinched accordingly and kept renewed 

 each year for that purpose. But from the 

 upper spurs there should be two canes 

 trained, one from each to form new arms to 

 renew those bearing on the upper wire. 

 They should be stopped once by pinching 

 off to make them throw out laterals; then 

 one trained from each cane and along on 

 the top of the wire as may be seen in Fig. 1. 

 a.a. and tied fast to the wire. These canes 

 will not be in the way nor affect the bear- 

 ing shoots as they occupy the vacant space 

 between bearing canes. 



This stopping or pinching off the shoots 

 to make them throw out laterals may not 

 be fully understood, and be neglected as 

 considered unnecessary work, but experi- 

 ence has proven that when canes have ex- 

 tra vigor by pinching them off, the laterals 

 are shorter jointed and produce better bear- 

 ing wood. The same may be seen in graft- 

 ing the Grape. The growth is often so ram- 

 pant that there are no fruiting buds, but by 

 pinching as stated they develop good bear- 

 ing buds on the laterals and get good fruit 

 the first season. 



This is a very important principle which 

 shonld be fully understood, for a good vine- 

 yardist will never select the strongest grown 

 canes for bearing, but those of medium size 

 with well-developed buds; even small later- 

 als are better than large canes. 



The shoots with fruit on project out on 

 either side of the wire and hang 

 gently down in festoons as they 

 do in nature without any tying 

 except the primary cane which 

 is well tied to the wire. This 

 position of the bearing shoots 

 gives a gentle check to the sap 

 as the shoots lengthen, and the 

 bunches enlarge and become 

 gradually heavier, bending the 

 extremities of the shoots towards 

 the ground, concentrating the 

 sap and vital force where it would not all be 

 cut away in pruning. 



Fig. '2 represents the same vine after 

 having been pruned and tied to the trellis 

 ready for bearing the next season. All sub- 

 sequent training and pruning will be just 

 like this, but is entirely too much beariug 

 wood for Concord and all that class of vines 

 unless we wish to invite the Grape to rot. 

 Of this I mil speak in my next. 



I would state here that the surface roots 

 should be cut off each year and never be 

 allowed to grow as they rob the foot roots 

 of their vigor and ruin the vines. 



To do this effectually, the ground should 

 be dug out a foot deep around the vines and 

 the surface roots cut off close to the stocks, 

 and this repeated as often as found neces- 

 sary to keep them clean. This will have to 

 be often repeated on the Concord class as 

 they all have a tendency to root shallow. 

 But the Aestivalis class root deeply and do 

 not often require it. 



The Concord planted on rich ground ac- 

 cording to the general method for the Grapes 

 will rot, and the matter can not be remedi- 

 4 ed by planting them deep unless the richest 

 soil is put in the bottom, for otherwise the 

 roots will turn up to the surface to get nu- 

 ^ toiment and moisture, and be affected with 

 every change of the weather. The Labrusca 

 class of Grapes cannot be grown here suc- 

 cessfully on rich ground except by trench- 

 ing two feet deep and tiu'ning the rich 

 ground below, neither can any Grape with 

 European blood except by special treat- 

 ment. 

 I have now given a full system of Grape 

 culture founded upon experience which can 

 be modified to suit all varieties of Grapes 



and conditions of climate. 



Niagara County Fruit Notes. 



In these days when we hear so much 

 grumbling and complaint among fruit 

 growers about low prices, and the unprofi- 

 table outcome of the whole business, it is 

 refreshing and pleasing to meet with a com- 

 munity of fruit growers who are in the hap- 

 piest frame of mind imaginable, and who 

 frankly and truthfully say that they are 

 making money. Such community or com- 

 munities of lucky fruit growers we found in 

 the northern part of the county, near Lake 

 Ontario, and also in Canada on the opposite 

 side of the Niagara. 



The best lessons are object lessons — those 

 which are conveyed to our mind and memo- 

 ry through the eyes. In travelling through 

 this section we thought such object lessons 

 were scattered over the region pretty thick, 

 and they were not lost on us. We only 

 wished that our family of readers could 

 have been with us to see for themselves, and 

 be impressed with some of the great facts in 

 fruit growing which we can only bring to 

 their attention in words. 



Location. One of the great industries of 

 this whole section is Peach growing, and 

 yet it is not many years since the first Peach 

 orchard was set out here. The eminent 

 success with this fruit is in the first place 

 due to the advantages of the location. The 

 nearness of the great bodies of water tem- 

 pers the climate, makes the spring later and 

 prolongs the fall. For this reason Peaches 



Pig. 



Same Vine as pruned and tied to trellis ready for 

 bearing the next season. 



bear annually, and a total failure is almost 

 unknown, which is aLso the case with nearly 

 all other fruits grown here. 



Now there are thousand of other localities 

 with similar conditions, where never a Peach 

 orchard has been set simply because people 

 imagine they are too far north of the Peach 

 belt. 



Delaware may not retain her monopoly 

 on Peach production much longer. The 



