148 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



April, 



later. Productiveness was greatly increased 

 by the early planting. 



3. Liberal even heavy manuring, during 

 the present season, gave great increase in 

 yield over no fertilizing, although the com- 

 mon notion is quite to the contrary. Heavy 

 manuring does not appear, therefore, to 

 produce vine at the expense of fruit. 



4. The test indicate that poor soil may 

 tend to render fruits more angular. 



5. Varieties of Tomatoes run out, and ten 

 years may perhaps be considered the aver- 

 age life of a variety. 



6. The particular points at present in de- 

 mand in Tomatoes are these: regularity in 

 shape, solidity, large size, productiveness of 

 the plant. 



7. The ideal Tomato would probably con- 

 form closely to the following scale of points: 

 vigor of plant, .5; earliness, 10; color of fruit, 

 .5; solidity of fruit, 30; shape of fruit, 20; size, 

 10; flavor, .5; cooking qualities, 5; productive- 

 ness, 30. 



8. Solidity of fruit cannot be accurately 

 measured either by weight or keeping qua- 

 lltiy. 



9. Cooking qualities appear to be largely 

 Individual rather than varietal characteris- 

 tics. 



10. The following varieties appear, from 

 the season's work, to be among the best 

 market Tomatoes: Ignotum, Beauty, Mika- 

 do, Perfection; Favorite, Potato Leaf. 



11. The following recent introductions 

 appear to possess merits for market: Bay 

 State, Atlantic, Brandywine, Jubilee, 

 Matchless, and perhaps Lorillard, Prelude 

 and Salzer. 



13. The following recent introductions 

 are particularly valuable for amateur culti- 

 vation: Dwarf Champion, Lorillard, Peach, 

 Prelude. 



Growing Early Tomatoes. 



T. R. COON, WASCO COUNTY, OREGON. 



In some of the sheltered valleys along the 

 Columbia River in eartern Oregon and 

 Washington, Tomatoes may be ripened in 

 the open field as early as July 1st. 



Success depends upon proper conditions 

 and close attention from the very begin- 

 ning. The hot-bed should have eighteen 

 inches of heating material, and seven or 

 eight inches of sandy soil. This will give 

 strong and enduring bottom heat without 

 danger of burning the young plants. The 

 seed is put in about February 30th. 



I take the trouble to put in the seed in 

 drills three inches apart and the seeds 

 about two inches apart in the drills, using 

 a knife-blade with which to pick up the 

 seeds that have been scattered in a saucer. 

 This will give each seed a fair chance. 

 Although rather tedious work, you get 

 out of the job of thinning the plants, and 

 besides, you run no risk of getting a mass 

 of slender white stems, all twisting and 

 crowding for room in which to exist, instead 

 of rows of individual plants, stocky and 

 beautiful, each having a vigorous constitu- 

 tion to begin with. 



Probably the best time to water the plants 

 is in the morning before the sun strikes 

 them. Let the water be slightly warm. 

 Ventilate carefully at first but plentifully 

 towards the last; also giving less water as 

 the time for transplanting approaches. 



When the tops begin to touch between 

 drills, they should go to the hot-house. My 

 plan of a hot-house for Tomatoes is to make 

 a tight floor with heating chamber beneath. 

 Cover the entire floor with sandy soil, well 

 enriched, to a depth of about six inches. 

 The walls should extend three or four feet 

 above the surface of the soil and may con- 

 sist of sashes of glass arranged to slide into 

 or out of their places. The roof may con- 

 sist of frames covered with canvas, as also 

 the gable ends. The north wall may he 



made permanent, and a board wall is good 

 enough. I think it best to set the hot-house 

 a little quartering, so that the first morning 

 sun will shine parallel to the north wall. 

 In this way all the plants get the first morn- 

 ing rays which are better for the Tomato 

 plants than the last rays of evening. 



Set the plants seven or eight inches apart 

 in straight rows, so that the first pair of 

 leaves will be but little above the surface. 

 After a few days, when the plants begin io 

 feel at home, the roof sashes or frames 

 should be drawn down in the day time, 

 giving them the full sun if the weather be 

 not too cold. 



To break up the crust which is apt to re- 

 sult from watering, use a three-tined rake 

 to scratch over the surface of the soil. Cul- 

 tivate both ways, and your plants will say 

 thank you as plain as plants can. 



When time comes for setting the plants 

 in open ground, take them up with plenty 

 of soil, well watered, adhering to the roots 

 by means of a new transplanting device, 

 and draw to the garden on a sled. Holes 

 are made to receive them, and partly filled 

 with some fine prepared soil— soil blended 

 with encouragement, such as Tomatoes de- 

 light in. Unload with the transplanter,then 

 pour water liberally into the holes, washing 

 the fine soil evenly about the plants, and 

 when the water has settled, dry dirt is 

 drawn about them. You will see no wilt- 

 ing here. 



Bartlett Pear Losing Ground. 



T. E. GOODRICH, UNION CO., ILL. 



While examining several nursery cata- 

 logues I note that the once famous Bartlett 

 Pear is relegated to a third or fourth place, 

 or entirely left out. Are growers ceasing to 

 plant it? In market it is well and favorably 

 known because of its American name, and 

 its many good qualities — qualities so good 

 that many boxes of other varieties are sold 

 as Bartletts— a sure test of the standing of 

 any fruit. 



It grows vigorously, bears abundantly, 

 carries well and is of unquestioned quality; 

 but its great f aiUng is blight. The mortality 

 of the trees from this cause ranges from 

 .5 to 15 per cent annually. This fact prompts 

 planters to search very diligently for more 

 rugged varieties. The great, and sometimes 

 even ludicrous, running after new and so- 

 called blight-proof varieties, is conclusive 

 evidence that men are not entirely suited 

 with the Bartlett, and are casting about for 

 something less tender to take its place. 



The Wilson Strawberry headed the list 

 for decades. Who plants it now? Except- 

 ing in a few localities especially adapted to 

 it, we hardly find it at all. Is the Bartlett 

 in like manner passing into retirement? 



Judge Miller's Fruit Notes. 



Improved Tree Growing. That Apple 

 trees as ordinarily grown are short-lived as 

 a rule, is well known to many growers to 

 their sorrow. Any seedling will start a tree; 

 but it may live to a bearing age, only to die 

 like a person afflicted with hereditary con- 

 sumption. This is just the kind of tree of 

 which thousands are annually planted, then 

 the cry goes: Apple trees won't pay. 



This will occur so long as Apple seedlings 

 are grown from promiscuous seed, and their 

 roots cut into pieces a few inches long upon 

 which a long graft is set. 



Trees thus growTi are in a measure de- 

 pendent upon the graft in all their futiu'e 

 development, with the exception of a start 

 in life. But there are orchards planted that 

 live long, flourish and are productive, trees 

 that are properly grown on healthy seed- 

 lings, a whole root being used for each graft. 

 These begin life with a constitution which 

 guarantees their success if properly treated. 

 One might as well expect to have a house 



stand firm where the foundation is built on 

 sand. 



When I first came to Missouri twenty-two 

 years ago, quite a number of our best east- 

 ern Apple grafts were brought along. These 

 were set on old bearing trees in an orchard 

 here, with the expectation of getting fruit 

 sooner than the young trees we could raise. 



They soon came into bearing, but what a 

 disappointment, the fruit was scabby and 

 rotted prematurely; Smokehouse, Jeffries, 

 Hayes, R. 1. Greening, Boston Russet, etc.,— 

 could it be possible that this climate and 

 soil would not grow these our favorites ? 



But as these trees had broken limbs on 

 them, and in some instances knot holes that 

 had rotted into the trunk or limbs, it struck 

 me that that had something to do with the 

 failure. 



Not to be defeated in this matter I at once 

 started a little nursery, raised trees, set out 

 an orchard, including these same varieties. 

 These have long since come into bearing 

 and such Apples we never saw in Pennsyl- 

 vania, sound and healthy, while in size and 

 color they are hardly recognizable to an 

 eastern man. One thrifty tree was grafted 

 with Newtown Pippin among the first, that 

 one part of the tree had broken off and the 

 stub had rotted into the main trunk. These 

 Apples for years got rotten specks, and 

 would fall off before the right time. 



The axe was in hand to hew it dovni, but 

 on reflection I concluded to give it another 

 chance. I hewed off the rotten wood, 

 cleaned out all the decay, filled the hole 

 with common mortar, and nailed a board on 

 top to prevent the possibility of wet getting 

 in. The result was that the second year 

 and after, that tree bore sound, good-sized 

 Apples. Whenever a tree has a hole in it 

 that will hold water, the fruit will be in- 

 ferior, but if closed with some kind of cement 

 to keep out the wet, it may again become 

 healthy. The sap seems to become soured 

 by rain getting into the tree. 



It is possible that had I doctored the trees 

 upon which my first grafts were set there 

 might have been different results; but be- 

 fore the idea of trying a cure, the trees were 

 hewn down and cast into the fire. 



I am glad to learn that there is an exten- 

 sive nursery in our state that grows Apple 

 trees on whole roots, which they sell at an 

 advanced price, but the demand neverthe- 

 less is growing rapidly. In passing through 

 their nur.sery I was forcibly impressed with 

 the superiority of these trees over the grafts 

 on pieces of roots; for they also grow after 

 the common plan for those customers who 

 want cheaper trees. 



Mariana Plum. This much-lauded 

 southwestern production did not come up 

 to my expectations so far as the fruit was 

 concerned, yet I deem it a boon to the 

 growers of stone fruits. It is a rapid 

 grower, will grow readily from cuttings. 

 Has stood the thermometer twenty degrees 

 below zero, so it is hardy. 



This is the foundation for our slow-grow- 

 ing varieties of Plums and Apricots. The 

 latter, if on Peach, although they will grow, 

 are unproductive, and not hardy here. On 

 Plum they will be more hardy, will mature 

 their wood earlier, and the fruit buds may 

 stand a lower temperature without being 

 killed. 



I have a dozen trees of the new Russian 

 varieties, that are growing fine. They are 

 on Plum stocks; are planted on a northern 

 slope so as not to be too early in blooming. 



It would be quite a comfort if we could 

 grow this delicious fruit successfully. 



But our Mariana stock has another mis- 

 sion to fulfill. The Peach takes and grows 

 freely on it, and may we not have hardier 

 trees, as well as freedom from the borer, 

 which, although not very troublesome here, 

 is still a nuisance. 



