POPULAR GARDENING 



AND FRUIT GROWING. 



"ACCUSE NOT NATURE, SHE BATH DONE HER PART: DO THOU BUT THINE." -Mjuios. 



Vol. V. 



-A.I'iaiXj, 1890. 



No. 7. 



In tbe changeful April weather. 

 Playing hide and seek together, 

 Rain and sunshine, light and shadow, through the 



woodlands come and go: 

 Now athwart the tree tops glancing. 

 Now amid the Violets dancing 



in the quiet glades below. 



Flitting through the tasselled Larches, 

 In and out the greenwood arches. 

 Now the vivid sunlight lingers, and its fltfui broidery 



weaves 

 On the starry wind-flowers bending. 

 And the feathery mosses blending 



With the red-brown Ivy leaves. 



Ask fob It. One of our subscribers, in sending 

 a communication for our Inquiry Department, 

 promises ** not to bother us again." We are 

 alwa.vs pleased rather than bothered by recer\ing 

 intelligent inquiries, and answer them cheer, 

 fully, or hare them answered. If you do not see 

 the information you want, by all means ask for it. 



FRurr Prospect. We are not scared about 

 the fruit outlook for this season, whatever the 

 reports from elswhere. The buds are yet all 

 right, and if nothing unforeseen happens, no 

 late frost like that of last year, no hail, etc., we 

 will not be likely to go without fruit this season. 

 We know the scare is great all over tbe continent, 

 but the damage is hardly ever quite as serious as 

 it has the appearance at first. 



Newer Candidates for Popularity. In 

 our notes from PoptTLAR Gardening Grounds 

 we took occasion to mention Warfied No. 2 and 

 Haverland as the two varieties of Strawberries, 

 which were the most promising of any sorts 

 old or new on our grounds last year. The firm 

 who introduced the Haverland ( Cleveland, Nur- 

 sery Co., Lakewood, O.) also sent out a new red 

 Raspberry, the Thompson's Early Prolific, which 

 we find well-spoken of everywhere. Its earli- 

 ness seems to be a striking feature. Mr. A. I. 

 Root reports as follows : Thompson's Early i 

 Proliflc ripened before Strawberries were gone^ j 

 and in tact, a little sooner than anybody expects 

 Raspberries. In every other respect it compares 

 exceedingly favorable with any of the red Rasp- 

 Ijerries. Its only fault is that it is too early, if 

 that is a fault. The Kansas is a new Blackcap 

 Raspberry, introduced by A. H. Griesa, Law- 

 rence, Kans., as a " large, jet-black fruit of 

 delicious quality, very early, ripening the entire 

 crop in two or three pickings and a good 

 shipper." 



Western New York Fruit Growers. 



{Continued from paije l'i3.) 



Erie Countt Report. Mr. Vamey has 

 noticed a growing demand for old Wilson 

 Strawberry, on account of its ability to 

 withstand the rough handling by express 

 companies. Early Dale is mentioned as a 

 new variety of Blackcaps which originated 

 in Erie County. The high price of sugar 

 during the past fruit season has been a 

 great damage to fruit growers. Grapes in 

 the county have been injured so badly that 

 the prospect for the coming year are for not 

 more than two-thirds of a crop. 



MosROE County Report. Mr. C. M. 

 Hooker says he doubts that there was a 

 single barrel of perfect Apples in the county 

 last year. Pears had done a little better. 

 Almost all other crops were destroyed or 

 badly damaged. Pear blight raged to quite 

 an extent. Even Saunder's remedy did not 

 help where barnyard manure had been ap- 

 pled for two years. However, there is no 



need of getting discouraged by one bad 

 year. The average profits are satisfactory, 

 if the business Is properly managed. 



Ontario County Repokt. Again it is 

 stated, this time by Mr, Darrow, that fruit 

 growing is the most profitable industry in 

 the county. The only wise course, however, 

 is to plant a variety. Among older Apples 

 having special points of merit, are named; 

 Hubbardston's Nonesuch, which brought a 

 big price ; also Sutton's Beauty, Longfield, 

 etc. Perhaps people here have planted too 

 largely of Baldwin and Greening. Pears 

 brought high prices. Vermont Beauty is 

 growing in favor, as it possesses many 

 points of excellence. 



Among European Plums the following 

 have done well : French Damson, which is 

 the best of the Damsons, bringing best 

 price; Field, Stanton, Middleburg, Prince 

 of Wales, Field is much like Bradshaw. 

 Stanton of medium size, very productive, 

 and very handsome. Fine for canning and 

 table. Of the newer sorts Czar and Grand- 

 duke promise well. Czar seems to be the 

 earliest on the list of the dark colored sorts. 



Cherries usually bring good prices. Mont- 

 gomery and English Morello are good ones 

 among the sotir Cherries. 



Among Peaches there are two new sorts 

 deserving high praise : Hyne's Surprise, 

 ripening immediately after Early Rivers, 

 and Horton Rivers ripening middle of Aug- 

 ust. They are perfect free-stones. Steven's 

 Rareripe is also good and profitable. 



Apricots can be grown with profit in 

 favored situations. The Harris Apricot is a 

 growing variety, and ripens July 20th. 



Moore's Ruby is the best flavored Red 

 Currant. 



Blackberries are neglected, yet bring 

 good prices. Early Barnard has been on 

 trial. It is better than Snyder, and holds 

 its dark glossy color well. 



Some Good Peaches. From Livingston 

 County comes tbe report that Hill's Chili 

 has proved to be hardierthan other Peaches. 

 It stood the frost well, and sold well. The 

 Seneca County report.mentions the Brigdon 

 Peach, which is found to resemble Craw- 

 ford, but seems to be morerproductive, and 

 of more even size. Mr. Willard says it 

 came from Cayuga County, and is also sent 

 out under the name of Garfield. Mr. Smith 

 of Geneva pronounces .it better than Craw- 

 ford. Has about 1,000 trees. 



Embellishments of Public Grounds. 

 Mr. McMillan of Buffalo treated this sub- 

 ject in line.with his essay read before the 

 Society of American Florists in Buffalo last 

 summer, and published in full in these 

 columns, but somewhat modified and tem- 

 pered down in language, yet hardly less 

 strong in argument. Costly ornamentation, 

 he thinks, is out of place in a public park 

 on accoimt of pilfering and trespassing, 

 etc., against which all police supervision is 

 impracticable. To what extent bedding 

 plants and .shrubs, etc., can be used, de- 

 pends entirely on the gentle disposition of 

 the neighborhood, or supervision, etc. Mr. 

 McMillan also remarks that European trees 

 can be more easily obtained than many of 

 our fine hardy natives. Oaks, Chestnuts, 

 Beeches, etc., that are quite fine for park 



purposes. Japan has furnished us some 

 very good things. Many of our native trees 

 ought to be much more freely used, if only 

 for their varying foliage in autumn. 

 To he (MntiniicO. 



Lady Birds and Their Habits. 



CLARENCE M.WEED.OHIO AGRIC'T'RAL EXP'RIM'NT STATION. 



Six common species of the Lady-bird 

 Family are represented in the illustration 

 on next page, Fis. 1 to H. and the three 

 stages of a seventh are shown at Fig. 7. 

 From these the reader will see that these 

 lady-birds are neat and handsome in ap- 

 pearance, and if the colors were represented 

 he would also find that they are brightly 

 colored and beautiful. 



These lady-birds are chiefly useful to man 

 as plant-lice destroyers. This habit of theirs 

 has been known almost from the time man 

 began to notice this insect about them. For 

 the last century the literature of ento- 

 mology has abounded with references to 

 this habit. The following admirable ac- 

 count of them was written nearly fifty 

 years ago by Dr. T, W. Harris, the author 

 of the famous treatise on Insects injurious 

 to Vegetation. He says : 



" Plant^lice would undoubtedly be much 

 more abundant and destructive, if they 

 were not kept in check by certain redout- 

 able enemies of the Insect kind, which seem 

 expressly created to diminish their numbers. 

 These lice destroyers are of three sorts. 

 The first are the young or larva- of the 

 hemispherical beetles familiarly known by 

 the name of lady-birds. These little beetles 

 are generally yellow or red, with black 

 spots: or black with white, red, or yellow 

 spots ; there are many kinds of them and 

 they are very common. They live both in 

 the perfect and young state upon plant-lice, 

 and hence their services are very consider- 

 able. Their young are small flattened 

 grubs of a bluish or blue-black color, spot- 

 ted usually with red or yellow, and furnish- 

 ed with six legs near the forepart of the 

 body. They are hatched from little yellow 

 eggs, laid In clusters among plant-lice, so 

 that they find themselves at once within the 

 reach of their prey, which from their supe- 

 rior strength they are enabled to seize and 

 slaughter in great numbers. There are 

 some of these insects of a very small size 

 and blackish color, sparingly clothed with 

 short hairs, and sometimes with a yellow 

 spot at the end of the wing covers, whose 

 young are clothed with short tufts or flakes 

 of the most delicate white down. These 

 insects belong to the genus Seymnus, which 

 means a lion's whelp, and they well merit 

 such a name, for their young, in proportion 

 to their size, are as sanguinary and ferocious 

 as the most savage beasts of prey. I have 

 often seen one of these little tufted animals 

 preying upon the plant-lice, catching and 

 devouring with the greatest ease, lice nearly 

 as large as its own body, one after another, 

 in rapid succession, without apparently sa- 

 tiating its hunger, or diminishing activity." 

 One of these lady-bird larvs is shown at a, 

 Fig. T. It is the young of the twenty -spotted 

 lady-bird, and its life-history may be sum- 

 marized as follows: The adult beetle (c Fig. 

 7) deposits eggs in clusters of six or more 

 on the leaves of Iron weed. Wild Lettuce 



