1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



149 



Some think it may also prevent the yellows 

 in Peach trees, where that malady is so de- 

 structive. Here we know nothing of that 

 disease. The Peach will live here to get 

 one foot in diameter at the ground, unless 

 a winter occurs with thirty degrees below 

 zero, then they begin to decay at the heart 

 and in a few years are done for. 



At this time. February ."ith, nine-tenths of 

 the budded Peach blossom buds are killed; 

 the natural ones sound yet. Pears and 

 Cherries badly damaged. 



A few sunshiny days will open some blos- 

 som buds, which will likely go under, for 

 there will certainly be some very cold 

 weather yet before spring comes to stay. 



How to Start Fine Seeds. 



HE-N"RT C. GREY. ILLS. 



I have a device of my own contrivance 

 for starting fine seeds, such as Begonias, 

 Gloxinias, etc. It meets no conditions of 

 heat, though any person of ordinary inge- 

 nuity can add bottom heat fixtures, which 

 without great expense or serious complica- 

 tions will add any required heat conditions. 

 Where an average temperature of 70° aud 

 over in the day time, and tiO to ti.5° at night, 

 can be had, as is the case in many living 

 rooms, bottom heat is rarely necessary. 



The seed box should be about two inches 

 in depth, but where no large amount of 

 seeds are to be sown, or where it is desir- 

 able to have them light enough to be easily 

 handled, a common cigar box about two 

 inches deep, and having drainage holes 

 through the bottom will answer. On the 

 outside of this box, about half an inch from 

 the top, narrow strips should be tacked as a 

 support for an extension. The essential 

 feature of the contrivance consists of a 

 piece of glass cut large enough to entirely 

 cover the box, on the underside of which is 

 fastened evenly a coating of thick white 

 flannel. Two thicknesses would be better 

 if there is danger of occasional neglect, but 

 it must be fastened evenly so that there be 

 no folds to admit unnecessary dry air be- 

 tween the top of the box and the flannel- 

 covered glass. 



Now fill your seed box with earth of the 

 proper kind up to within half an inch or 

 less of the top of the box; for most purposes 

 within a quarter of an inch would be best. 

 How the seed should be sown must depend 

 upon the character of the seed itself, and is 

 not intended to be within the province of 

 this article. Suffice it to say that such 

 minute seeds as those of Begonia should 

 not be covered at all. and there are others, 

 much larger, of which the same may be 

 said. The soil, however, should for all be in 

 a moist, not water-soaked, condition, when 

 the seeds are sown. 



Wet the flannel each morning and even- 

 ing, using, preferably, hot water. Any 

 other moistening of the earth will rarely be 

 necessary, but should it become so, do not 

 sprinkle the earth, but place the boxes in a 

 pan of warm water of sufficient depth to 

 reach up to about half the height of the box, 

 and let it remain there ten or fifteen 

 minutes. Be careful not to give so much 

 water as to make the ground be thoroughly 

 water-soaked. Usually ten minutes in the 

 water will be more than ample, for though 

 the absorbed moisture will not have appear- 

 ed at the top by that time, it will within an 

 hour or two be entirely diffused throughout 

 the earth. 



In due time the seedlings will make their 

 appearance, and as soon as is desirable, a 

 glass without flannel, or at first one covered 

 with thin, white flannel, may be substituted. 



In the meantime prepare a box or frame 

 similar to the cigar box, but enough larger 

 to slip easily over the outside of the box, 

 and rest upon the narrow strips tacked upon 



the outside of the seed box. It has neither 

 top nor bottom, and should be of a height 

 not to exceed an inch above the height of 

 the seed box. Its purpose is merely to give 

 room for the growing seedlings, and the 

 strips may be so arranged that they can be 

 raised or lowered, by any suitable device 

 easy of construction. The glass must be 

 sufficiently large to cover the extension 

 frame, and in the case of seedlings requiring 

 shade, be covered with thin white flannel. 

 For a number of years past I have grown 

 such seeds as Gloxinias, Begonias, Prim- 

 roses, Cyclamen, etc., in boxes substantially 

 like those described, with unvarying suc- 

 cess, and such boxes will prove great helps 

 to amateur florists even with the more com- 

 mon seeds. 



Cucumber Enemies. 



A. P. BEID, CUSIBERLAND CO., ME. 



Bugs are plenty enough, but the worst 

 enemy that I have to deal with is the borers 

 that infest the roots. They are so minute 

 as to be hard to find, but the drooping of the 

 vines from day to day tells the story. 



These borers are very destructive even 

 after the vines are well grown. I think they 

 are most troublesome in moist ground. Last 

 season I tried various things, but finally had 

 good success with salt, which I dissolved in 

 water and sprinkled about the roots. This 

 may seem rather harsh treatment, and of 

 course might kill the vines if applied indis- 

 criminately, but I succeeded in either kill- 

 ing or driving away the plagues with this 

 remedy without killing a single vinit. The 

 solution was not put on the vines direct; I 

 simply saturated the soil about them. 



Cautious experimenting will easily dem- 

 onstrate what the vines will stand, and this 

 will prove beneficial in more ways than one. 

 The vine family like a warm, light loam, 

 and my experience would suggest that in 

 such a soil the root enemies will be the least 

 troublesome. Considering how numerous 

 and various the enemies of this class of 

 plants are, it is always policy to put in many 

 more seeds than are wanted, and to grow 

 them as rapidly as possible. 



Points in Dandelion Culture. 



W. C. JENNISON, MIDDLESE.X CO., MASS. 



Preparation of the Soil and Sowing. 

 — Select land free from sods, spread stable 

 manure over the surface to the depth of two 

 or three inches; plow it under, then cross- 

 plow, rake over the surface and cast of all 

 stones and rubbish, when it will be ready 

 for the seed sower. 



If you have one-fourth acre or more to 

 sow, procure a seed-sower by all means, as 

 it will more than pay for itself in one season. 



We are the most successful when we 

 barely cover the seed from sight, and then 

 firm the soil well over it, )i to }{ inch being 

 plenty deep enough to plant. It takes six 

 to ten days for the plants to appear, and 

 about ten days more before much can be 

 done in the way of cultivation, as the plants 

 are small and grow close to the ground; 

 for this reason it is highly important to get 

 the seed in the ground early, so that the 

 plants can be cultivated before Purslane 

 gets a start, for where such is the case, the 

 labor is increased about fifty per cent. 



CULTiv.\TioN. From experiments tried 

 we find it most profitable to thin plants to 

 three inches apart in the row and that they 

 are more easily cared for when in rows 

 fourteen inches apart, instead of twelve. 

 After the plants cover the ground and 

 attain the height of twelve to fifteen inches, 

 we mow them down, rake off the leaves 

 and go over the bed with a hoe or hand 

 cultivator. New leaves will soon cover the 

 ground again, and will need no more care 

 till fall, when they should receive a cover- 

 ing of coarse litter. 



Cattle are fond of the leaves which at first 

 increase the flow of milk, but when fed 

 exclusively for many days, seem to have 

 the reverse tendency. The leaves are also 

 much relished by horses. 



Planting. Dandelions are easily trans- 

 planted, and as very large plants can be 

 raised, and much hand weeding saved, 

 some prefer to grow them in this way. 



Furrows are struck out two feet apart 

 and plants set about four inches apart in the 

 row, a little soil being placed against the 

 roots to keep them in place till a hand cul- 

 tivator is run between the furrows to com- 

 plete the filling in of the same. 



To grow a supply of roots, the following 

 method is most likely to give the best 

 results. Prepare a piece of ground early in 

 the spring for a seed bed, then rake over 

 the surface once a week till June, the ob,iect 

 being to get as many weed seeds sprouted 

 and killed as possible, after which the Dan- 

 delion seed should be sown broadcast and 

 raked in very lightly. Then roll or tread 

 over the entire surface. The plants will 

 soon cover the ground and may be allowed 

 to take care of themselves till wanted the 

 following season. 



Insect Enemies. While this method has 

 great advantages, there is also one serious 

 drawback, In consequence of which we 

 dare not risk growing our entire crop in this 

 way, and that Is the centipede or "thousand- 

 legged worm." They work their way into 

 the top of the fleshy roots, and eat out the 

 inside. In wet weather water settles in the 

 cavities producing decay. 



The past season we lost qviite a large plat 

 in this way. They grew luxuriently, cover- 

 ed the ground completely, giving promise of 

 an exceptionally large yield, but they com- 

 menced dying off, and by fall there were 

 only a few scattering plants in the whole 

 piece. Some simple remedy that would de- 

 stroy this pest, while the plants are growing, 

 without injury to the crop, would be of 

 great value. New plants from spring-sown 

 seed are not as badly affected by the worms, 

 the roots being more solid enables them to 

 resist their attacks more effectually. 



Where worms are not troublesome.a Dan- 

 delion bed may be kept for several years, as 

 the old roots when cut off send out numer- 

 ous sprouts forming clumps of ten to seven- 

 ty small plants from one root, but the labor 

 required to clean them is so great that it is 

 not very profitable. Where plants have 

 been kept for seed stock, the case is differ- 

 ent, for the roots not being cut, send out 

 hut few branches (usually three to five) 

 which form stools weighing when trimmed 

 ready for market one to four pounds each. 



Gathering and Marketing. Some cut 

 off the roots just below the crown of plant 

 with a long, stiff-bladed knife, but where 

 grown on a large scale, this process is too 

 slow. We take a square shovel, ground 

 sharp, and commencing at the end of a row 

 shove it along under the plants cutting them 

 off about one-half inch below the surface. 



I A crescent scuffle hoe works nicely for 

 cutting Spinach. J^d.] 



If the weather is favorable, a gang of boys 

 follow with knife in hand, gathering up the 

 plants. They shake out the dirt and litter, 

 and cut off the roots close up to the leaves, 

 and throw the Dandelions into baskets, as 

 cleaned. When the weather is not favor- 

 able, the plants are gathered up and wheeled 

 in on to the barn floor where the cleaning 

 can be done in more comfortable quarters. 

 The boys receive a specified sum per bushel 

 for cleaning. The Dandelions are then 

 taken to tubs and washed, and placed upon 

 strips of lath fencing (laid flat over barrels, 

 boxes, etc.) to drain. After remaining in this 

 position over night they are weighed, allow- 

 ing twelve pounds to the bushel, when they 

 are ready for the market. 



