122 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



March, 



fungous diseases such as scab, rot, and 

 cracking. In no case have I seen scab on 

 an Apple or Pear of this race, nor the 

 Cherries or Plums to cracli or rot. 



The Leaf. The foliage of all the orchard 

 fruits, and the trees and shrubs from this 

 region is peculiar in thickness, firmness of 

 texture, number of rows of palisade cells, 

 and its pubescence, often silvery in expres- 

 sion. The surface of the leaves, like that 

 of the fruits, seems also unfavorable to rust 

 deposits. While the rust of the Pear and 

 Cherry leaves has been constantly on the in- 

 crease in the vrest during the past ten years, 

 we rarely find a trace of it on the 



interior varieties of the Russian .^^ 



Pears and Cherries, and the foliage 

 is perfect on the native and Russian 

 Plums when every leaf has prema_^ 

 turely dropped from southwest 

 European varieties, such as the 

 Lombard. 



Determinate Growth. Without 

 regard to the character of the au- 

 tumn, all these varieties ripen up 

 their points of growth before cold 

 weather comes on. The micro- 

 scopic examinations made by Dr. 

 Halstead in the winter of 1888 de- 

 termined the fact that all the vari- 

 eties and species from the region 

 now considered ripened so perfectly 

 prior to the advent of severe frosts 

 as to form "caps" of almost pure 

 starch cells at every point of growth, 

 while the tips of the hardiest of our 

 old varieties— aside from the Rus- 

 sian—were relatively soft and im 

 mature. 



Hibernating Tendenci-. The 

 perfectly ripened varieties of this 

 region remain dormant during our 

 periodic warm spells of winter pecu- 

 liar to the Mississippi valley, about 

 as perfectly as our native Box Elder 

 or Currant bushes. The peculiar 

 bark we can also say is not favor- 

 able to evaporation during our dry 

 winters, and it does not absorb 

 water as do the Siberian Crabs and 

 the common sorts from southwest 

 Europe. As a proof of this the trees never 

 bark-crack at the crown in nursery or 

 orchard, apparently for the reason that they 

 do not absorb water at the crown during 

 wet autumns, which swells the protoplasm, 

 and ruptures the inelastic bark. The same 

 peculiarity of the skin of the Cherry and 

 Pear seems to prevent cracking of the fruit. 

 In all this we notice climatic modifications 

 which we observe on native trees as we go 

 westward from the Atlantic to the dry plains 

 of Colorado. 



with a smaller one in the foreground at the 

 left. Exotic Grape vines (Black Hamburg) 

 in luxuriance are seen in the back ground, 

 covering the tall trellis in front of the sev- 

 eral buildings. The large Fig tree is about 

 ten feet high, and about as wide. 



To bring out this enormous growth, the 

 ground had been trenched, lavishly enrich- 

 ed, and the soil reversed to the depth of 

 several feet. The wintering, of course, is 

 the only real problem, and Mr. Pafiiord 

 solves it by cutting out all old and unwield- 

 ly wood, and bending the young growths 

 carefully down to the ground, with all the 



The Fig at the North. 



We have never felt justified in recom- 

 mending Fig growing at the north for profit. 

 We hesitate to recommend it now. But 

 when we saw the fine Fig bushes in the 

 garden of Mr. Henry Pafford of Niagara, 

 Ont., la.st fall, and the fine specimens he 

 had preserved in jars, and heard him tell of 

 the abundant crops he gathers every season, 

 we came to the conclusion that many 

 northern gardeners who take an interest i/i 

 such things, or pride in having something 

 different from other people, could derive 

 much pleasure and enjoyment from the 

 possession of a Fig bush or two in his gar- 

 den, provided this is in a well protected sit- 

 uation, or like Mr. Pafford's, surrounded 

 on nearly all sides by buildings, and in a 

 locality where the nearness of great bodies 

 of water " take the sting out of the bliz- 

 zard's tail." 



At our suggestion, Mr. Pafford had his 

 Fig tree photographed last autumn. Our 

 illustration is a reproduction of this picture, 

 showing the large tree or bush in centre. 



FIG CULTURE AT THE NORTH. 



small fruit which the buds contain, left on, 

 then setting stakes crosswise over the wood 

 to keep it in place, and covering with litter 

 and soil until spring, when it is uncovered 

 and straightened out. 



Good Taste In Naming Fruits and 

 Vegetables. 



The American Pomological Society has 

 adopted a set of most excellent rules for 

 naming fruits, and tries in every way to 

 enforce them; yet many of the nurserymen, 

 who are really the main body of that useful 

 association, seem to care little for those 

 rules when writing up their catalogues. 

 The public is fast learning, however, that 

 the most fiagrant violators of the rules are 

 also habitual introducers of worthless trash, 

 or of old things luider new, and usually of- 

 fensive names. 



Even where the violation of the rules of 

 the Pomological Society do not involve a 

 violation of honesty and integrity as they 

 do in some cases, they very usually involve 

 a violation of good taste. So are the mons- 

 trous chromos with their unnatural glaring 

 colors a violation of good taste, and they 

 begin to be offensive to public taste and 

 sentiment as well. 



We are thankful to the Association of 

 the American Agricultural Colleges and Ex- 

 periment Stations for their efforts now be- 

 ing made in calling the attention of the 

 seed trade, and of introducers of new veget- 

 ables to the flagrant violation of good taste 

 and good sense of which they have made 

 themselves so often guilty in the selection 

 of names for their novelties. 



This agitation can not fail to have good 

 results, though they may come very slow, 

 but we think it is in perfect accord with 

 popular sentiment, and, if continued long 

 enough, must sweep the offensive nomen- 

 clature away in the end. In fact we notice 

 a very great improvement in this year's 

 crop of catalogues already. 



The Committee on Nomenclature of Veg- 

 etables consists of the following good names 

 of well-known personages— L. H. Bailey, 

 E. S. Goff, W. J. Green. These gentlemen 

 are confident that "brevity, accuracy and 

 good taste in the naming of vegetables 

 are perfectly compatible with the 

 purposes of the trade." A leading 

 principle of this new nomenclature 

 is that the name merely serves the 

 purpose of designating the plant, 

 ■ ■ not of describing it. 



The rules which the committee 

 '■ have formulated, are as follows: 



1. The name of a variety should 

 consist of a single word, or at most 

 of two words. A phrase , descrip- 

 tive or otherwise, is never allowa- 

 ble; as. Pride of Italy, King of 

 Mammoths, Earliest of All. 



2. The name should not be super- 

 lative or bombastic. In particular 

 all such epithets as New, Large, 

 Giant, Fine, Selected, Improved, 

 and the like should be omitted. If 

 the grower or dealer has a superior 

 stock of a variety, the fact should 

 be stated in the description im- 

 mediately after the name, rather 

 than as a part of the name itself; as, 

 " Trophy, selected stock." 



S. If a grower or dealer has pro- 

 cured a new select strain of a well- 

 known variety it shall be legitimate 

 for him to use his own name in con- 

 nection with the established name 

 of the variety; as. Smith's Winning- 

 stadt, .Jones' Cardinal. 



4. When personal names are given 

 to varieties, titles should be omitted; 

 as. Major, General, Queen. 



5. The term hybrid should not be 

 used, except in those rare instances 



in which thevariety is known to be of hybrid 

 origin (the product of two species). 



6. The originator has the prior right to 

 name the variety; but the oldest name which 

 conforms to these rules should be adopted. 



7. This committee reserve the right, in 

 their own publications, to revise objection- 

 able names in conformity with these rules. 



The Horse Chestnut. 



Of leading trees suitable for lawn and 

 street planting the Horse Chestnxit easily 

 should be included in the best half-dozen. 

 There are at least three superior kinds 

 namely the Common White the Double varie- 

 ty of the same and the distinct and handsome 

 Red-flowering Horse Chestnut. The trees 

 first named are of rapid growth, and with 

 age reaching a size of sixty to eighty teet in 

 height and of nearly the same breadth. 

 The Red-flowering is not quite so strong in 

 growth as are the former but it is greatly 

 esteemed for its flowers which are of a 

 brilliant red and very attractive. 



A peculiarity of the HorseChestnuts.which 

 commends them to all tree lovers is that 

 the foliage appears In its fulness earlier 

 than that of other shade trees. The foliage 

 is of a beautiful green and without gloss. 

 Following immediately on the rapid burst- 

 ing of the leaves the blossoms appear in 

 great spikes resembling very much a dis- 

 play of Hyacinth heads set in the green 

 young foliage. At this stage no hardy tree 

 can equal the Horse Chestnut for beauty. 

 In autumn an attraction appears in the Com- 

 mon species for the children in a bountiful 



