1890. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



163 



1,771. Frizetaker Onion. True seed can be 

 had of William Heury Maule, Philadelphia, Pa., 

 or Peter Hendei-9on \- fc, Cortlandt street, New 

 Vork City. 



1,770. Spanish Chestnut. We would greatly 

 prefer the Parajronto the averagre Spanish Chest- 

 nut, even to the N umbo, and this is yet the best 

 among them, for our uses. It also is doubtful 

 whether the Spanish Chestnut will prove hardy 

 in Steuben Co., N. Y.. unless in a very protected 

 situation. No harm in trying it, however. The 

 Pai"ag(in. when gn\fted into the top of Spanish 

 and perhaps other kinds of Chestnut, has some- 

 times a baa habit of suddenly wilting and dying. 

 Whether this can be obviated by grafting near 

 the ground or not, we dt) not know. — H. W. E. 



i. 1,777. Grafting English Walnuts. The En- 

 glish Walnut has been successfully grafted on 

 Black Walnut, Hickory and Butternut, but it is 

 a difficult operation at best, and will fail in nine- 

 teen cases where it succeeds once. 



1,878. Currant as Tree, The only safe way of 

 growing the Current is as a bush. It can be 

 trimmed to single stem, and grown as tree, but 

 it is never satisfactory. The same may be said 

 of the Gooseberry, although the European varie- 

 ties are usually grown so at their nome, and 

 ordinarily with best results. 



1,697. Mildew on Tomatoes. I suggest the 

 instant removal and destruction of all plants 

 showing any indications of the ailment.— C. E. P. 



'1,705. Protecting Strawberries from Ornbs. 

 There is no wash, nor do I know of any device 

 that will keep the white grub from destroying 

 Strawberry plants.— C. E. P. 



1,701. Bark Lice on Pear Trees. Dissolve two 

 ounces of Gisherts Compound, Tobacco soap 

 or carbolic soap in a gallon of water, and apply 

 with a paint brush to all infested parts. One, or 

 at the most two applications will be sufBcient.— 

 Chas. E. Parnei.l. 



1,6!>4. Zonal Beraniums. The reason why the 

 leaves of your Zonal Geraniums turned yellow 

 was because you do not water them thoroughly, 

 or else you permitted them to become very dry 

 at the roots bef^^re watering.- C. E. P. 



1,791. Planting Early Crops. To answer this 

 query as fully and as properly as its importance 

 demands, would re<juire more space than could 

 well be spared in this department. You should 

 procure a copy of Henderson's Gardening for 

 Front and carefully follow the directions con- 

 tained therein.- CHA.S. E. Pahnell. 



1,488. Landscape Gardening. Scott's " Beau- 

 tiful Homes " is an excellent work on the subject. 

 —Chas. E. P. 



1,490. Crintim Culture. To cultivate and bloom 

 the Crinums to perfection, they should be given 

 a compost composed of two-thirds turfy loam, 

 one-third well-decayed manure, and a good 

 sprinkling of sharp sand. Good drainage is also 

 indispensable. .\s the different species are ever- 

 green, they do best when grown continually in 

 [lots, onlv shifting into larger ones as the others 

 become tilled with roots, for the more root room 

 the plants have, the larger and Dner will be the 

 Howers When the plants are growing rapidly, 

 liquid manure can be given occa.-'sionally to good 

 advantage.— C. E. P. 



1.492. Transplanting Large Trees. Yes, large 

 trees can be transplanted, but I do not think that 

 it would do your Seckel Pear tree any good to 

 remove it. With the exception of the Apple my 

 experience in transplanting large fruit trees has 

 been so unsatisfactory that I would not ad^^se 

 the attempt.— C. E. P. 



1.493. Blackberry Disease. Cut out and burn 

 all infested parts as soon as noticed.— C. E. P. 



1,498. Begonias and Abutilons, Begonias 

 should be taken up and potted about the first of 

 September. They should be placed inside about 

 the middle of the month. Abutilons can be taken 

 up later, but should be inside before cool weather 

 sets in. This refers to plants that are grown for 

 winter blooming.— C. E. P. 



1,.503. Planting Baspberries, If the plants are 

 large and well rooted, they can be planted in the 

 fall. Otherwise I would wait until spring.— C.E.P. 



1,503. Manuring Blackberries. A shovelful 

 of good manure applied at once will l)eneflt next 

 year's crop materially. As you describe your 

 land as being rather thin, I would double the 

 quantity if possible.— P. 



1,.509. Best Potato. For home use Early Ohio 

 and White Star. They are also excellent market 

 sorts. In this vicinity the Early Rose is also very 

 extensively grown as a market variety.— C. E. P. 



1,B80. Cabbage Lice, An application of Hen- 

 derson's Insect Death Powder will destroy them; 

 so will an application of Tobacco soap, Fir Tree 

 oil or Cole's Insect Destroyer.— C. E. Parnell. 



1,681. Setting Asparagus Plants, They can 

 be planted whenever the ground is in a proper 

 condition. In light soils they can be planted at 

 any time from fall to spring, but for heavy soils 

 1 would wait until spring.— C E. Parnell. 



1,683. Fertilizer for Celery. An application of 

 Mapes Vegetable Manure will be found beneficial. 

 Apply when hoeing, scattering well and working 

 in around the plants and along the rows. Or 

 scatter in the rows and work in thoroughly be- 

 fore setting out the plants.— Chas. E. Parnbll. 



1,686. Plum Bot. Gathering and destroying 

 all infested specimens is said to keep this pest in 

 check. 



1,625. Boses from England, Roses can be sent 

 from England by mail suci'essfuUy when the 

 plants are in a state of rest.— C. E. P. 



1,622. French Cannae It is said that they are 

 crosses between C. Ehemanni-gladioliflora, aud 

 the best of the common smaller-flowered varie- 

 ties.— P. 



1,769. Strawberries in Pear Orchard. It is a 

 good rule to work an orchard tor tree fruit only, 

 and not for other crops, especially cereals, ex- 

 cept only during the first few years after trees 

 are set. Even then only hoed crops, vegetables, 

 small fruits, etc., should be planted. The trees 

 at that period do not occupy all the space, and 

 do not need all the fertility of the soil, while the 

 cultivation keeps down weed growth, and other- 

 wise benefits the trees as well the hoed crops. 

 Where manures are used as abundantly as re- 

 quired for the crops named, we would not fear 

 damage to the young trees by this management, 

 but rather expect a beneBcial efi'ect. We would 

 not hesitate to plant rows of Strawberries be- 

 tween rows of standard Pear trees, no more 

 than of Apple trees or Peaches. Just as soon as 

 the trees commence to bear fruit, however, the 

 whole area should be given up to them entirely. 

 Double cropping the orchard does not usually 

 pay. Dwarf Pears, being planted very close, 

 and reaching out quite far with their shallow- 

 feeding roots, need the entire space of the 

 ground almost from the day they are planted, 

 and consequently it would not be a good prac- 

 tice to crop the orchard very closely otherwise, 

 especially not with the over-hungry and ex- 

 haustive Strawberry plants. If done at all, it is 

 admissible only for a year or two, setting a 

 single row of plants between each two rows of 

 trees, and applying the required plant-foods— 

 chiefly potjisn and phospneric acid— in very 

 generous rations — H. W. E 



1.766. Applying Wood Ashes. These can be 

 applied as a top dressing to be raked or hoed in 

 if so desired, for almost any crop, and at almost 

 any time. For Strawberries we would put them 

 on the ground broadcast, or along the rows. 

 The plants will be sure to get the benefit of their 

 application. For flowering plants apply as a top 

 dressing, although, we believe, a nitrogenous 

 fertilizer would give better results. 



1.767. Nitrate of Soda for Lawns, Whether a 

 dressing of nitrate of soda will be of much ben- 

 efit to lawns depends very much on the character 

 of the soil, and the time of application. Used 

 very early in spring, even on rich soil, it may 

 bring out an earlier growth, and a richer, velvety 

 color. Applied later in the season on soil well 

 supplied with fertilizer (stable compost), the 

 effect may be very slight. We shall make some 

 experiments with nitrate of soda on the lawn at 

 once— H. W. E. 



1,764. Tools for Digging Boot Crops. There is 

 usually some difficulty encountered in digging 

 Carrots and Parsnips when these have grown 

 very long into the ground. We know of no 

 l>etter way of digging these crops thau by i>low- 

 ing a furrow away from one side of each row, 

 and close to it, thus almost laying the roots bare 

 on one side. Then with a spade or spading fork 

 pry them out or loose from the other side, and 

 pull up by hand.— H. W. E. 



1,774. Garden Manure, Blood is a most excel- 

 lent fertilizer for garden crops, being rich in 

 just the element of plant food (nitrogen) which 

 is needed more than any other for giving us 

 thrift, luxuriance, and succuleney. In Europe 

 the blood as it comes from the slaughter houses 

 is often dtied, then powdered, and thus fitted for 

 broadcast application. W here blood can be ob- 

 tained from slaughter houses in quantities, we 

 would recommend a liberal use for gardens. It 

 can be composted by sandwiching thin layers of 

 it between layers of fresh stable manure, muck, 

 sods, soil, etc., always covering the heaps over 

 with soil, muck or other safe absorl)ent, or mix- 

 ing small quantities of kainit with the mass, in 

 order to prevent the escape of ammonia. Blood 

 is almost exactly the same as flesh in composition, 

 and either of them if composted as suggested, 

 will within a few months give you a garden fer- 

 tilizer of the very best quality. Sheep manure is 

 also fine for vegetables, but we preter to have 

 this as well as all other manures for the garden, 

 well composted before applying it. If fine and 

 free from coarse litter, however, you need not be 

 afraid of using it freely, both broadcast to be 

 raked, harrowed, or hoedin,and in hills and drills. 



1653. Early Blackberry, The Snyder Black- 

 berry is the best well tested variety we know. 

 It is early, entirely hardy, and enormously pro- 

 ductive with us. The size increases by heroic 

 pruning. 



1,738. Growing Cabbage Seed. The best suc- 

 cess in growing Cabbages we ever had was with 

 seed from Long Island and from Puget sound. 

 One of our exchanges tells about the industry 

 in Long Island as follows : Contracts for the 

 seed are made in advance with seedsmen or their 

 representatives, stipulating the variety to be 

 grown and the price to be paid for the seed. The 

 seed is sown about the 20th of June, and they 

 aim to set out the plants between Aug. 1 and 10, 

 in rows three feet apart, about 10,000 to the acre. 

 The grower aims to have the Cabbage grow a 

 small, soft head, not sufficiently large for table 

 use. About the first of November, before freez- 

 ing weather, the Cabbage is taken up by the 

 roots and prepared for wintering. To do this, a 

 wide and deep furrow is oiiened by plowing both 

 ways in it. In this furrow the Cabbages are 

 compactly set, about three abreast, and the earth 

 thrown against them with the plow, covering 

 them as nearly as possible. The work is finished 

 by hand with the snovel. As soon as the ground 

 can be worked in the spring the Cabbages are 

 taken out of the trenches and set out, about two 

 and one-half by four feet, according to variety. 

 To facilitate the starting of the seed stalk, the 

 head of the Cabbage is generally gashed with a 

 knife. About the 20th of July tne seed is ready 

 for harvesting. The seed stalk is cut off, and 

 allowed to lie upon the ground for a few days 

 before it is drawn in. The shelving of the wagon 

 is lined with canvas to prevent wasting of seed, 

 very much of which is shelled out in the process 

 of loading;. It is then taken to the barn fioor, 

 where a slight flailing finishes the work, and the 

 seed is cleaned with a common fanning mill. 

 The crop varies largely, running between 150 

 and 800 pounds to the acre as extremes, and the 

 farmers realize from 40 to 60 cents per pound. It 

 is estimated that about 200,000 pounds are an- 

 nually raised in this part of Long Island. 



1,759. Prolific Poultry, We know of no breed 

 of fowls that will lay more eggs than the Leg- 

 horns, either white or brown. The Polish and 

 Spanish breeds are also most excellent layers, 

 but all these are usually better summer than 

 winter layers. In localities where the winters 

 are usually very cold, we would prefer a hardier 

 breed, and our experience leads us to put the 

 Black Langshans ahead of any other breed for 

 the production of eggs the year round.— H.W.E. 



1,757. Spraying Fruit Trees, This is an item 

 with which everyone who attempts to raise tree 

 fruits for market (and perhaps for home use also) 

 will have to reckon. It has come to this that we 

 have only the choice between spraying the trees, 

 or seeing our fruit destroyed or badly damaged 

 by insects.— H. W. E. 



l,75;j. Apple Bark Louse, This is the same in- 

 sect which also attacks Pears, etc. Remedies 

 were suggested on page 141 ( March No,) which 

 see.— H. W. E. 



1,690. Book on Fruit and Poultry. I have 

 read most of the books pertaining to small fruit 

 culture and 1 know of none equal to Roe's "Suc- 

 cess with Small Fruits." It may be ordered of 

 Dodd, Mead & Co., through your bookstore, and 

 costs $2.00.— L. J. P. 



1,762. Canada Ashes, Whether Canada uii- 

 leached wood ashes are worth $17.00 delivered in 

 Hammonton, N. J., depends entirely on their 

 per centage of phosphoric acid and potash. A 

 good average sample contains about six percent, 

 of the latter, and two per cent, of the former, 

 or per ton 120 lbs. of potash worth at regular 

 schedule rates $7.20, and 40 lbs. of phosphoric acid 

 worth $3.20; so that the chemical value of one 

 ton might be estimated at $10.40. If the cost of 

 handling, shipping to Hammonton, etc., are 

 added to this, the probability is that the $17.00 

 per ton would not be far out of the way. It should 

 be bom in mind also that wood ashes are one of 

 the very best fertilizers for bush and tree fruits, 

 we might say, are without a peer, and that their 

 agricultural value is much higher than analysis 

 indicates. On the other hand it is true that many 

 samples of the Canada ashes nowadays do not 

 show as high a per centage of potash and phos- 

 phoric acid as before mentiond. In that case 

 $17.00 is a pretty good price to pay for the ferti- 

 lizer. At least we would look around for cheaper 

 plant foods first before investing in Canada 

 ashes. Mr. S. D. Willard before the last meeting 

 of the W. N. Y. Horticultural Society stated 

 that his late experience with such ashes was far 

 from being satisfactory, owing to the low grade 

 which had been palmed off on him. The best 

 advice we might give to our subscriber in Ham- 

 monton, buy only on guaranteed analysis or to 

 forward a sample of the article to the N. J. Ag- 

 ricultural Experiment Station of New Bruns- 

 wick, with the request to have it analyzed. If it 

 contains at least si.x per cent, potash, and two 

 per cent, phosphoric acid, you can afford to pay 

 I17.0O a ton for it ; otherwise not.— H. W. B. 



908. Blanching Celery, No material on the 

 whole, has been found so satisfactory as earth. 

 Drain tiles and paper answer well early in the 

 season It is unnecessary to tie the stems to- 

 gether in using earth, provided they are held 

 firmly together with the left hand, while the 

 earth is placed about them with the right. 



