156 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



April, 



PRoH 

 THE 



SOCIETIES 



TO aE>rn)EvrKMovm« 



What Chemistry Teaches. 

 1 1 reminds you that common 

 honesty pays; that what you 

 take from the soil must be 

 returned, or something will 

 auflfer.— 3/f). Hort. Soc. 



Dwarf Juneberiy The 



Juneberry takes oare of it- 

 self and never fails to yield a full erop. The 

 fruit is good for more purposes than food for 

 birds— they make good pies when Lemon juice 

 is added. —Pro/. B. Oale. 



The Orchard Site. Select some elevated and 

 naturally well-drained location. Avoid barren 

 hill-sides. Any good Corn land will answer. If 

 not naturally well-drained, tile to the depth of at 

 least four feet. A northern slope is preferable 

 to a southern.- J. V. Cotta. 



The Tamariz, Tamarix Amurensis is a shrub 

 well adapted to a very dry soil. It is extensively 

 planted in east Euro])e on railroad embankments 

 to hold the earth; it is propagated from cuttings, 

 cut in the fall and put in callousing pit, the same 

 as Grapes.— Pro/. BiKld before the Imva HoH.Soc. 



No. Illinois Fruit Men. The following officers 

 were elected iit the recent meeting of the 

 Northern Illinois Horticultural Society: Presi- 

 dent, A. Bryan^, Princetown; 1st Vice-President, 

 A. Dunning, Dunning ; Secretary, E. W. Graves, 

 Sandwich ; Treasurer, I. Woodward, Marengo. 

 E. W. Graves, Sec'y. 



Protecting Birds. We want all species of birds 

 that do little or no harm to crops and destroy 

 injurious insects, entirely exempt from slaugh- 

 ter by any one at any season of the year. Let 

 us punish with fine and imprisonment any one 

 who kills certain birds, and let us join and see 

 that the law is observed.— Pro/. Farnsky nf Ky. 

 Hint. iS'oc. 



Fruit Growers' Unions Needed. Good fruit 

 will always sell, and we have none too much of 

 it, but there should be a responsible head, to 

 whom dealers all through the state could send 

 and order what they wanted without fear of being 

 disappointed in ijuality. It was said that many 

 places last year could not get all the fruit they 

 wanted, and would be glad to send in orders if 

 they knew to whom to send —South Haven (Mich) 

 Pomologieal Society. 



Feach Culture. To make a success, one should 

 select elevated sites, and warm sandy soils, or 

 localities near large bodies of water. In most 

 situtions a Peach orchard should be well culti- 

 vated. Keep down all weeds and grass, in order 

 to repel the borer, so destructive to Peach trees 

 Wash the trunk of the tree with strong suds 

 made of soap and carbolic acid, and scatter wood 

 or coal ashes around the roots of the tree. — F. R. 

 Palmer, Ohio Hort. Soc. 



Uanuring on the Installment Flan. Crops 

 should be fed much as people are fed. We do 

 not want to take food enough to-day for a whole 

 week; we eat in instalments. So with the feed 

 ing of plants. It is well to fertilize by using a 

 portion at the starting of the crops, and then to 

 apply some more later, but there sometimes is a 

 difficutly here, because some crops are so tender 

 that the leaves may suffer wherever the fertilizer 

 touches them. — ITm. H. Bowker. 



The Village Garden. This is made a nuisance 

 by neglect and want of care, a success by 

 thorough work and thoughtful management. 

 Don't plow, but spade it. Plant a little at a time 

 and often, so as to have a succession of fresh 

 vegetables all summer. Give at least a quarter 

 of it to flowers. The garden so managed be- 

 comes interesting and will not be neglected; and 

 an economizer by saving butchers', grocers' and 

 doctors' bills.— JVfrs. M. J. Cotter, Ills. 



Planting Cuttings. The important thing is to 

 see that the soil o\'er the base of the cutting is 

 well firmed. It is not enough that the ground 

 be firm around the top of cutting. The place 

 where the moisture is needed (and the ground is 

 made firm to retain the moisture! is at the cut- 

 ting, whence the roots start. Deep plowing and 

 careful preparation of the soil, and frequent 

 shallow culture, with the cuttings firmed well at 

 the base, will be pretty certain to insure growth. 

 -Prof. r. A. Kejfcr. 



'Wind-breaks for Orchards. An essential ad- 

 junct to an orchard is a good wind-break on the 



south and west, partly to protect the trees 

 against excessive cold wind storms, and to pre- 

 vent the fruit being blown off by the strong 

 southwest winds. Norway Spruce and White 

 Pine are the best, planted in single or double 

 rows, eight to twelve feet apart, between the 

 rows and in the rows, setting the trees in break- 

 joint style. Belts of trees on the north and 

 east side would do more harm than good.— J. r. 

 Cotta before the Horticultural Society of Northern 

 lUiiioix. 



Greenhouse Heating. Mr. W. W. Rawson uses 

 bituminous coal, it having fifteen per cent more 

 heat in it, and costing $1.1.5 less per ton. He has 

 found in the use of this coal that it is economy to 

 run a thin layer with bright strong fire. Mr. Phil- 

 brick agreed with Mr. Kawson as to bituminous 

 coal, it being easier to regulate the fire ; and 

 cited instances where fires had been banked and 

 kept smouldering from Saturday night until 

 Monday morning, at which time it was only 

 necessary to stoke the fire and open the draft, 

 and steam was had in ten minutes.— Boston Mar- 

 ket Gardeners" AssoeiatUm. 



Frotecting Feach Trees at the North. James 

 Little told to the Indiana State Horticultural 

 Society his plan of insuring a crop of Peaches 

 every year. It consists in planting young trees 

 in a metal or earthenware device six or more 

 inches in diameter and twenty or more inches in 

 length, in such a manner that the roots can only 

 extend in two directions. The "trough" in 

 which the roots are placed is buried the usual 

 depth of planting and the tree supported by a 

 stake. In winter the tree is bent to the ground 

 and covered with stalks or straw, which is not 

 removed until late in the following spring. 



The Best Flums. Mr. S D. Willard, of Geneva, 

 N. Y. before the Ontario Fruit Growers' Asso- 

 ciation gave the following six as the most de- 

 sirable for home use, viz:— (1) Bradshaw— one of 

 the most profitable and the earliest good Plum; 

 (3) Lombard, among Plums what the Concord is 

 among Grapes; (3) Gueii, a hardy, profitable 

 dark blue Plum following the Lombard; (4) Hud- 

 son River Purple Egg, one of the best fancy 

 Plums for maket, hardy and productive; (.5) 

 Peters' Yellow Gage, introduced by Mr. Barry, 

 the very best light colored Plum; (6) Coe's Gol- 

 den Drop. Where hardy enough, he would add 

 the Reine Claude de Bavay, as being one of she 

 most profitable of market Plums. Weaver, Wild 

 Goose and a quantity of that trash, would do to 

 experiment on. 



Lime and Salt. First among chemical pro- 

 ducts not needed as plant food, which act as 

 solvents upon the plant food already in the soil, 

 rendering it suitable tor use is lime. It acts as a 

 chemical agent in liberating potash, soda and 

 ammonia from various compositions which occur 

 in our soils, and are not otherwise available, and 

 it also improves the mechanical condition of peat 

 or heavy clay land. It may be applied either as 

 quicklime, marl or powdered oyster shells, at the 

 rate of 1000 to 2000 lbs. per acre, spread in the 

 fall, once in two or three years. Another article 

 useful in a similar way is common salt. It acts 

 as a solvent of certain chemical compounds in 

 the soil, it absorbs moisture in damp weather 

 and retains it, and distributes other soluble 

 substances through the soil. It should not be 

 used for most plants more than 100 or .500 lbs. per 

 acre.— Bo.s(oH Market Gardeners' Association. 



Sarly and Late Fotatoes, Mr. S. Kiehl:- 

 Northern Potato growers now very freqently re- 

 sort to the expedient of salting their Potatoes to 

 keep them from sprouting. Persons buying 

 northern seed should be careful not to get these, 

 or they will fail to get a stand. We can get new 

 Potatoes several days earlier by taking the seed 

 and spreading it out very thin on shelves or the 

 floor of a light cellar. They will start short, 

 thick sprouts, and these will grow as soon as put 

 into the ground. Mr. Browne:— This is the only 

 way to get a stand of late Potatoes in this local- 

 ity. I get my seed from St. Louis about May 1st, 

 and spread it out on the barn floor, leaving it 

 there luitil after my Strawberries are gone. Then 

 plow up the patch, cut my Potatoes with one 

 sprout to every piece, paying no attention to 

 eyes that have not sprouted. Then I plant them 

 on the Strawberry ground that has been plowed 

 after the second crop has been picked, and have 

 never failed to get a crop.— Oi.scK.s.wm,s "/ the 

 Alton Southern-llUnois Hort. Soeiety. 



Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. The 



annual meeting was held in Madison Feb. 4 to 7 

 in coiijiniction with the several State Societies. 

 Among the papers of great merit were " Making 



it pay on a Wisconsin Fruit Farm," by A. L. 

 Hatch, and " How to Prevent Apple Scab," by 

 Prof. E. S. Goff. Prof. Goff conducted a series 

 of experiments with remedies for Apple .Scab 

 last season on Mr. Hatch's farm under the direc- 

 tion of the Department at Washington with 

 very flattering results. The Society is now 

 planning to locate several experimental stations 

 this season for the purpose of testing new vari- 

 eties of fruit. This work will be carried on 

 under the direction of Prof. Goff and controlled 

 by the State Society co-operating with the Uni- 

 versity Station. A committee of three to repre- 

 sent the society and Profs. Goffs and Henry of 

 the State Univerity faculty are to have charge 

 of the work. The committee consists of Presi- 

 dent J. M. Smith; Secretary B. S. Hoxie, Hon. 

 B. F. Adams, Profs. E. S. Goff and W. A. Henry. 

 In the completion of local county societies for 

 the prize of $15.00 for the largest and best col- 

 lection of seedling Apples, not less than ten 

 varieties, Waupaca County Society took first 

 premium. A number of applications were re- 

 ceived for the summer meeting, and by vote of 

 the society it was decided to hold that meeting 

 at Black River Falls in Jackson County. The 

 meeting will probably be about June 2.5th, and 

 the "latch string" will be out to all friends of 

 horticulture. The officers of the society are J M. 

 Smith, Green Bay, President ; M. A Thayer, 

 Sparta, Vice-Pesident; B. S. Hoxie, Evansville, 

 Secretary; A. L Hatch, Ithaca, Cor. Secretary; 

 Mrs Vie H. Campbell, Evansville, Treasurer —H. 



Cultivating and Marketing Sweet 

 Potatoes. 



[Extract of palter read by T. E. Ooodrieh before the 

 Illinois State Horticultural Society.] 



In selecting seed reject all crooked and 

 unusually long Potatoes, and plant those 

 showing a tendency to become short and 

 larger in the center, with a rapid taper 

 towards each end. Place In a hot beil horiz- 

 ontally one-half inch apart, drench with 

 water, cover three inches with earth, then 

 one and a half inches of sand. When the 

 plants are four inches above ground, they 

 are large enough to pull for sets. 



Ridge the ground with a two-horse plow, four 

 feet or less apart, and with a spade plant on the 

 ridges, eighteen inches apart. Keep free from 

 weeds and grass. A Sweet Potato scraper, drawn 

 by a mule, will be of great assistance until the 

 \ines cover the ground, after which little atten- 

 tion will be required. Digging can be done with 

 a spade, if only a small (luantity is grown, or 

 with a plow with the mould-board removed, and 

 a rolling cutter to cut the vines. 



I use a digger, consisting of two rolling cutters 

 and two plows, throwing the dirt in opposite di- 

 rections, and two lifters that pass under the 

 ridge, leavingt he hdls to be easily Ufted by hand. 



The Potatoes designed for table use are separ- 

 ated from the seed, and corded in bins in the Po- 

 tato house. Great care should be observed in 

 handling to prevent marking. A slight bruise, 

 or a scratch of a finger nail, imperceptible at 

 first, will become black and unsightly ,and great- 

 ly impair the sale. No vegetable depends so 

 much on its good looks for a quick sale at a high 

 price as a Sweet Potato. 



The house is kept as near a uniform temperat- 

 ure of fifty to Hfty-five degrees as possible. 



The crop is marketable from November to 

 April in barrels and kegs lined with paper to 

 keep out the cold, and shipped to market _ in 

 refrigerator cars. 



The Clematis Disease. 



{Paper by Professor CcfiLstock of f'ornctl Z'/itvcrsity, 

 read before the Western New York Hort. .Society.) 



The symptoms of the Clematis disease 

 are, the leaves suddenly turn black, and the 

 vine dies down to a spot near the root that 

 has a diseased appearance. Frequently after 

 a period of rest, the plant will take a fresh 

 start, sending up a new shoot from the root, 

 but the life of this growth is of short dura- 

 tion, for the plant that once dies down, is 

 doomed to perish soon. 



At first sight there are strong reasons for locat- 

 ing the disease in a limited section of the vine 

 near the ground. This section has a diseased 

 appearance; the plant dies down to this point; 

 and later fresh shoots are sent out from below 

 it as if the roots were healthy. It was doubt. 

 ess this reason that led Prof Arthur to look 



