1890. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



1 1 1 



buttle with (il!i.<s stopper: shake before usiiiB 

 This will keep any length of time. A steel pen 

 should be used writinjf on the lal>el. Common 

 writinK ink in whieh a little sulphate of copper 

 has been tli^sohrd, will also answer the purpose, 

 but a ipiill should be used in writing with it 



They are Caaeht. Two thieves were recently 

 caught in the Hulfalo Post Office. Their names 

 are Edstrom and Bapst, both employees. It is 

 known that they took letters belonging to Popu- 

 lar G.^RDKXixc, but there is no telling how 

 many. It required the services of several Gov- 

 ernment detectives and the use of 1300 decoy 

 letters to cleanse the oIBce of thieves. If any of 

 our readers have failed to hear from their re- 

 mittances they will know what is the matter. 



Shady G-reenhoase. My small plant house get,-. 

 but little sun in the winter. While all plants do 

 not succeed in it I would sjiy for the benefit ot 

 others who may have no better site for a bit of 

 glass, the following plants do admirably: Lapa- 

 geria rosea and its variety, alba. Camellias, 

 Azaleas, Ferns, Lily of the Valley, Hyacinths, 

 Tulips, Crocus, would do well in a shady house: 

 also Fuchsias, Uoses, t^'inerarias. Primulas, Palms 

 of various kinds,red and white Oleander. — M. S. 



Fansies in Haine. I have been very success- 

 ful with Pansies in this.locality, and find light 

 garden loam, with a liberal supply of old hot- 

 bed manure, suits the seedlings admirably. For 

 early plants I sow the seed in March. After 

 pinching the young plants out in shallow boxes 

 I keep them near the glass in a cold frame, and 

 when sufficiently strong plant out. I find that 

 young plants fare badly, or rather, refuse to 

 grow in heavy clay soil, which with me suits 

 them when sufficiently grown, or in the frame to 

 plant out.— A. E. E., Kennebec Co., Maine. 



The Catalpa is a bad neighbor to drains. Our 

 friend Wm. Falconer recently found his Mush- 

 room cellar aflood, the drains evidently being 

 choked up, and the trouble was traced to the vi- 

 cinity of two young Catalpa speeiosa growing 

 thriftily within a few feet of the line of the drain. 

 Here the pipes were found completely choked 

 with long ropes of the fleshy, thready roots of 

 the Catalpas, and a large proportion of their 

 main roots had even made a straight line for the 

 drain, which was of glazed tile. Other trees 

 nearby. Birch, Oak, Soft Maple, Frajiitug ornus. 

 Linden, Red Cedar and Honey Locust had shown 

 no inclination to throw their roots towards the 

 drain, or attempt to enter it. 



Peach or Flnm. Our correspondent. Professor 

 Budd, says in the Farmers Ecview, that during 

 the past twenty .years he has watched the behav- 

 ior of the Peach when budded on young stalks 

 of the Wild Goose. Miner and other Chickasaw 

 varieties, and has about reached the belief that 

 in some respects they are preferable to Peach 

 roots. With a view to drawing out the opinion 

 of others he says : |1.) That he has not known 

 the borer to attack the Peach wood when budded 

 on these stocks above the crown. (2.) He has 

 thought that the Peach wood ripened up more 

 perfectly on these stocks and that for this reason 

 the fruit buds would bear a lower winter tem- 

 perature. (3.) He has believed that the Peach 

 would do well on this stock on soils where it 

 would nearly fail on Peach roots. 



Local Apples, Specimens of the Virginia 

 Beauty were sent us by W. B. Kelly of Washing- 

 ington County, Va., who says that this fruit does 

 splendidly in the mountains, and is one of their 

 best. In appearance it is loo dark and dull to be 

 attractive. It is a sweet Apple, very juicy, and 

 pleasant. Altogether we hardly deem it of suffi- 

 cient value for general cultivation, even it it 

 should succeed as well elsewhere as it does in its 

 mountain home. From E. J. Carr. Rockingham 

 Co., S. U., we had specimens of Carr's Surprise, 

 which was awarded a special premium at the last 

 New Hampshire State Fair. The Apple is large, 

 oblate, of a very deep dull red with dark stripes. 

 Flesh red-streaked, coarse, sub-acid, not unpleas- 

 ant. Mr. Carr says the tree is an annual and 

 enormous bearer, of good shape, very \ngorous 

 and hardy, even surpassing the Baldwin. Evi- 

 dently the Apple is a good keeper, and Mr. Carr 

 claims to have kept them nntU midsummer with 

 ordinar.v treatment. 



Floral Ornaments. Last summer I saw a beau- 

 tiful rockerv The design was a circle about 

 three feet in diameter; height about two feet. 

 The stones were laid up with a natural irregular- 

 ity, and in the pockets of earth between the 

 stones were planted Ferns, Mone>-wort, Sedums, 

 Portulaca, Verbena Montana, Kenilworth Ivy, 

 and in the top a large dark-leaved Coleus, with 



Kusty Miller, iilanted in a circle at the roots of 

 the Coleus. It maiie a striking ornament for the 

 lawn Another pretty ornament was made by 

 beautifying a large stump that was left in a 

 friend's yard. There were Ferns planted around 

 the roots alternate y with Scarlet Geraniums, 

 while Madeira Vine and Senecio scandens were 

 running over the stump in every direction, mak- 

 ing a beautiful contrast with the bright red 

 below. Mrs. X. H. Gale. 



The Hardy Pinks. What is known tis the Clove 

 Pink is rather more hardy than the Carnation of 



THE CLOVE PINK. 



which it is the parent. The petals are more 

 fringed, and the fragrance more powerful resem- 

 bling that of the Clove. In France it is called 

 the Clove Gilly-flower. The Garden Pink {Dian- 

 thus hortensU>) is a favorite species which reaches 

 perfection about the last of June. The foliage 

 is more grass-Uke and the plant much hardier 

 than the Carnation. The double varieties are 

 ver.v desirable, and all have Clove fragrance. D. 

 Chinensis. (China Pink.) This species is a bien- 

 nial of dwarf habit of great beauty, but with- 

 out fragrance. The foliage is of a yellowish 

 green It flowers from seed the first year, being 

 perfectly hardy. It flowers stronger the second 

 year. The colors are exceedingly varied and 

 rich : crimson and dark shades of that color ap- 

 proaching to black, are often combined in the 

 same flower with edgings of white, pink, or other 

 colors. Seed saved from double flowers will pro- 

 duce a great proportion of double flowers. In 

 beds where there may be a hundred plants, 

 scarcely two will be found alike. D. harhatus 

 (Sweet William) is an old inhabitant of the flow- 

 er garden, and was much esteemed in Gerarde's 

 time " for its beauty to deck up the bosoms of 

 the beautiful, and garlands and crowns for pleas- 

 ure". Fine varieties are perpetuated by dirtding 

 the roots It is easily raised from seeds. A bed 

 of fine sorts presents a rich sight It sports into 

 endless varieties, viz. : white, pink, purple crim- 

 son, scarlet, and variously edged, eyed, and 

 spotted. The whole family of Dianthus are 

 readily increased by seeds or cuttings. 



New York Floral Notes. 

 The florists are not inclined to quarrel with the 

 holiday trade; the crop was not large, in conse- 

 quence ot dull weather, but it fully met the 

 demand. Prices at New Years were materially 

 less than at Christmas, but the dealers say they 

 did better than they expected. The trade in 

 Christmas greens seems to have fallen off consi- 

 derably, but Holly and Mistletoe sold well. The 

 demand for fine English Mistletoe is growing, 

 but a good deal of the American variety has 

 been in the market, and this is likely to bring the 

 real original article into disrepute, as it is not 

 nearly so handsome; the leaves soon shrivel up, 

 and the berries are less showy. It is the same 

 with Holly; that from the southern states has 

 not the substance of the English plant, nor is it 

 so well berried. It is a pity each holiday time to 

 see the quantities ot Kalmia, Chimaphila, and 

 other native plants just stripped or dragged up 

 by the roots; many of our finest native plants 

 will soon be extinct, unless measures are taken 



for their protection. The Kalmia has been killed 

 in so many localities bj' forest fires that this 

 wholesale stripping at (.'hristmas becomes a 

 serious matter. 



Pink Roses were perhajis the poorest of all at 

 Christmas, as the lack of sun made them so 

 badly colored. 



White flowers seem growing In favor for deco- 

 ration ; the most fashionable dinner arrange- 

 ment is entirely colorless. .\ recent decoration 

 consisted of Roman Hyacinths and Maidenhair. 

 The center-piece was a low oval basket filled 

 with these flowers. The favors for the ladies 

 were large hand-bouquets of the Hyacinths; 

 they were laid on the table, forming a great 

 wreath around the basket. The gentlemen's 

 favors were large boutonniers of the Hyacinths. 

 Some charming white decorations are composed 

 of Paper-white Narcissus. Of course Roses 

 really take the lead for table decorations; what- 

 ever other flowers come into favor, these still 

 hold a front rank. Some pretty dinner decora- 

 tions of La France, though not by any means 

 novel, are much admired: the style remains the 

 same, the flat basket in the centre, with the 

 favors grouped around it. 



Very fine Lilum auratum made its appearance 

 in the market before the holidays; it sold well. 

 Large flowers, like these Lilies, Pancratiums, 

 Amaryllis,etc., find a sale now, though years ago 

 they were not regarded as florist's flowers. 



The great event of the season, in the decora- 

 tive line, was the Patriarch's ball of January 2d. 

 The Metropolitan Opera House is such an im- 

 mense place that any small arrangement would 

 be utterly lost, and a most lavish use of stuff 

 was necessary. Naturally, the greater part con- 

 sisted of Evergreens, Kalmia, Juniper, and 

 Southern Pine. The idea was to represent a 

 forest, while the corridors and foyer were the 

 surrounding glades. Walls and ceilings were 

 covered, and big Junipers stood at the angles of 

 the corridors. Palms and Orange trees stood 

 about in the foyer. 



In the ball-room, which consisted of the great 

 auditorium, floored over level with the stage, 

 the forest effect was fully preserved. The face 

 of the boxes looked like a steep mountain side, 

 covered with verdure. Tall Evergreen trees stood 

 up against the lower tier, hiding the front, while 

 the boxes themselves were filled with green. 

 The balustrade along the front was covered with 

 green, and banked with flowers, fiats of Tulips, 

 Hyacinths, and Narcissus being used for this 

 purpose. Tulips and other flowers were hung in 

 the Evergreen trees in front, brightening them 

 wonderfully. The upper tiers of boxes were 

 filled with green, and a delicate tracery of vines 

 and greens hid the lofty dome of the roof. The 

 great proscenium arch was masked in green, 

 while the stage was set with a most enchanting 

 garden scene. Fine Palms and Orange trees 

 stood about, while at the back and sides was a 

 raised terrace of flowers, chiefly Lilies and Pink 

 Roses. The entire effect was most charming, 

 and it was really the most elaborate decoration 

 of recent years. 



The florists still say that boxes of loose flowers 

 take the lead for holiday gifts; baskets and 

 designs are much less called for. When baskets 

 are arranged, they are usually simple in form. 



New Years week there was an immense stock 

 of Violets on hand; they could hardl.v be given 

 away, yet the demand for this flower is steady 

 and constant. Just now a favorite buttonhole 

 bouquet is a bunch of half a dozen Paper-white 

 Narcissus, grouped tightly together. The hand 

 bouquets are still very large and loose ; most 

 of them are very costly. The society papers 

 have had a good deal to say about the one lucky 

 debutante who carries a hundred dollar bouquet 

 to great balls, but this looks like an advertising 

 scheme on the part of the young lady's friends. 



Some of theOrchid baskets are very handsome; 

 a silver basket flUed with pale Cattleyas and 

 Maidenhair was a very delicate combination. 

 Primula obconica is used a good deal ; the plants 

 make a pretty bank, when used in profusion, 

 though alone they are rather weedy. Bulbs are 

 used a good deal in large decorations, but Tulips 

 and the like have really seen their best days for 

 fine work. Of course, they will always be used, 

 but they can't be considered fashionable flowers. 



Trade was really in a very chaotic condition at 

 the holidays; half the florists were down with 

 the grippe, and the same may be said of their 

 patrons. The epidemic was undoubtedly respon- 

 sible for a serious loss of trade; certainly this 

 winter has been haid on the florists genei ally. 

 EsuLY Louise Taplun. 



