l82 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



May, 





CoTTespoitdtnts are urged to anttcipalr' the season in pre- 

 senting questions. To ask, for instance, on April 16 or 20 

 what Peas had best be sown, could bring no answer in 

 the May issue, and none before June, when the answer 

 would he unaeuaonable . Questions received tMifort the X'ith 

 of any nn^nth stand a good chance of being answertd tn the 

 next paper. Not more than three questions should be sent 

 at one time. Answers tu questions bearing on tne com- 

 parative vaiue of implements, etc., offered by different 

 dealers must not be expected . Neither can we promise to 

 comply tpiih tne request sometimes made to "pleufie aTswer 

 by mail." Inquiries appearing utithout name belong to the 

 name next following. 



Rmlies to Inquiries are eai'nestly requested from our 

 readers. In answering such give the number, your 

 loaality and name, the latter not /or puttlioation, unless 

 you desire. Write only on one aide of the paper. 



1781. Number of Vines in Grapery. How many 

 vines can be grown in a lean toUrapery of about Ifi by 9 

 feet? Is it aosolutely necessary to prepare a border 

 for so few vines?— H. L. N. 



1782. Pruning the Pear for Fruit. Will cutting 

 back the shoots increase number of fruit buds? When 

 is best time, and how much should be cut back? What 

 other fruit trees will be benerlted by cutting back ?— D. 

 P. — Indiana. 



1783. Eucharis. What Is best method of making it 

 bloom ? 



1784. Oestrums. How propagated ?— Subscriber. 



178.T. Market for Mushrooms. With constant sup- 

 ply wiiere can i liuU a market, and at what price and 

 fluctuations?— W. J. A., A'. Y. 



1786. Snowdrop Tree. What is size, hardiness and 

 amount of bloom of the Halesia in the latitude of Chi- 

 cago, Illinois? 



1787. Prunus Tribulata. How will it succeed in 

 the latitude of Chicago?— T. H. E. Ills. 



1788. Manetti Rose Stock. What is the difference 

 between this and the Dog Hose? Which is best for 

 stock, and how propagated?— L. R. H., Ilia. 



17S9. Starting Dahlias. How done for Boston 

 market.- C. E. J., Mass. 



179U. Moving Large Trees. Can Maple and Beech 

 trees S to 5 inches thick be moved about May 1st, and 

 how?— W. U. D., A', r. 



1791. Crops in Shade. Can any vegetables, fruits or 

 flowers be grown successfully In the shade; if so, 

 which are they?— Mrs. J. T.C., 31ass. 



1792. Insects on House Rose. It is infested by spi- 

 ders which are green, not red. What are they, and 

 what can 1 do for them?— Rose. 



1793. Root Grafts. Is it true that fruit trees are 

 much better if grafted on whole roots, or at least on 

 the crown pieces, ihan on sections from below the 

 crown?— Subscriber, Mich. 



1794. Low Land for Onion and Celery. How made 

 available?— D. R., Ohio. 



1795. Ferns from Seed. How sown and managed?— 

 R. T. S. 



1796. Exotic Grape Plants. How are they started 

 from single eye?— Jai',, Mo. 



1797. Plugging Trees for Disease. Will boring holes 

 in the trunk of fruit trees, and fltllng with Iron, blue 

 vitriol, or sulphur prevent or cure disease?— Doubting 

 Thomas. 



1798. Preserving Mushrooms. How Is this done in 

 simplest manner?— G. H. K,, Pa. 



1799. Seeding the Lawn. How much lawn grass 

 will it take for one. half acre of new lawn, and what 

 kind?— P. J. Randall, O. 



1800. Potash Salts for Strawberries. When should 

 they be applied, and what (luantity per acre?- J. W. D. 



1801. Palm Seeds. Where can I buy them, and 

 when is best time to sow?— E. D., Wis. 



1802. Wall Flowers. How managed after flowering 

 in pots, to keep them tor flowering next winter?- Geo, 

 B. D., Yancey s Mills, Va. 



1803. Household Pests. What remedies are there 

 for carpet beetles, clothes moths, ants, etc?- Warmoth. 



1804. Rose Leaf Hopper. Please tell me a remedy. 

 — S. T. W., Columhus. 



1805. Shade for Gooseberries. Do the American 

 varieties need shade? If so, how much, and at what 

 season?— A. E. B., Lena, Itl^. 



IWe. Book on Cold Storage. Where can I get a 

 Ijook on building mid storage houses for preserving 

 frults?-J. D. B., Chvelaiut, <). 



1807. Gas Lime. Is this of any value as insecticide 

 or fertilizer?- J. R. S. Delaware. 



1808. House Plants in Summer. What is best 

 method of summering common house plants?— Wm. S. 

 H., New York. 



1809. Front Fence. Would you recommend Arbor 

 Vitae, with Irish Junipers placed at corners and at gates 

 to represent posts? Maple trees are on outside of walk. 

 — W.H. N., Botkins, O. 



1810. Old Man. What is the botanical name of 

 a bush or shrub, called "Old Man." Leaves very fine; 

 bush hardy, 2 or feet high.— J. C. M., Leechburg, Pa. 



1811. Oypripedium Spectabile. What situation 

 should I give them in the garden? and what prepara- 

 lion of bod is necessary for them?— Gardener, Conn. 



1812. Black Knot on Plums, etc. What is its true 

 cause, and what the remedy?— H. P. .W., St. Catha- 

 rines, Ont. 



1813. Geraniums Ailing. Plantsare keptln a warm 

 room; blooms all blast; leaves curl up, and then die. 

 What remedy?— Mrs. F. W. L., Ka7isas. 



1814. Greenhouse Heating. What Is the best heat- 

 ing apparatus for small and large house?— C. U. C, 

 Oshkosh, Wis. 



1815. Pruning Pears. How much should standards 

 be cut back? 



1816. Duchess Pear. What is its value as to pro- 

 ductiveness, form and quality? 



1817. Horticultural Literature. What is the best 

 S5 investment In reading matter on fruit culture?— 



OVERISEL. 



1818. Brading Machine. Where can a machine to 

 brad glass In ctmservatory be bought?— J. N., Ontario. 



1819. Christmas Rose. Where can It be obtained?— 

 Mrs. J. J. M., Texas. 



1820. Grafting Cherries. Can this be done success- 

 fully as late as May?— C. L. D. Illinois. 



1^21. Growing Lotuses. Can Lotuses be grown 

 succcssfidly in a large wash tub sunk into the ground? 



1822. Sal Soda as Fertilizer. Will this do in place 

 of potash for Orape Vines?- W. J. M.. Pontiac, Ills. 



1823. Trees and Berries. How close to fruit trees 

 can Blackberries and Raspberries be grown without 

 detriment to the tree?— Ga. 



1824. Currants in Georgia. Will they succeed in 

 garden culture, and what soil would they requIre?-J. 

 E,, Augusta, Ga. 



1825. Annuals for Shady Position. What flowers 

 will succeed in bed at north side of house, where sun 

 strikes only in morning and evening?— J. G. S., Somer- 

 ville, N. Y. 



1826. Plums for Profit. It is safe to plant Spaulding 

 and Abundance largely?— F. S, W., Bath, N. Y. 



1827. Clematis Disease. What remedy can you 

 suggest for Clematis out-doors?- W, W. D., N. Y. 



1828. Rhododendron Culture. Some one of experi- 

 ence please tell how to care for Rhododendrons.— W. 

 J. Miller, Illinois. 



1829. Sun Scald on Roses. Is It desirable to wrap 

 the stocks of imported Tea Roses with Sphagnum Moss 

 duiing the summer to protect from sun scald?— J. B. 

 D,, Natrona. Pa. 



1^30. Mushrooms for Market. How packed for 

 shipment ?— W. J. A. 



REPLIES TO INQUIRIES. 



1,713. Table and Koom Decoration. There are 

 several books published upon this subject and 

 the querist cannot do better than consult the 

 eatalogiies of the horticultural publish in glhouses. 

 But why does he not send his queries to the 

 editor? He would find the various writers 

 willing to give all the information in their 

 power. A large number of plants are available 

 for the purposes mentioned, and many ot them 

 are of simple culture. Very many fail in 

 growing window pUmts owing entirely to their 

 inability to it ttrnd to details. The beauty of a 

 room or tablr ;ils(Mlcpends upon the amount of 

 taste and the ability to arranfre plants to the 

 best advantage that the operator may possess. 

 Among plants suitable lor tal>Ie decoration are 

 Azalias, the Umbrella Palm, the India Rubber, 

 Chama-rops Fortune!, the Bourbon Palm, several 

 of the Acacias, Corypha Australis, Corculigo 

 recurvata, Cyperus alternifolius, Crotons, Dra- 

 caenas, and many others. For windows we have 

 a very large number to select from, as Gerani- 

 ums, Fuchsias, Verbenas, and bulbous plants, 

 while for climbing plants there are the vaiious 

 kinds of Ivies, the Cypress vine, the Balloon 

 vine. Sweet Peas and many others. The above 

 are only mentioned to aid in a selection— H.W.S. 



1,814. Greenhouse Heatingr. There are a large 

 number of firms who manufacture boilers for 

 both hot water and steam heating, and each of 

 them claims to have the best system. We are not 

 aware that impartial comparative teste have 

 been made with any of these, for the reason that 

 it would be not only a delicate, but also an ex- 

 pensive undertaking to settle <lefiiiitely the true 

 merits of each of these boilers and their com- 

 parative value. On general luiiu-ipk- we believe 

 in hot water heating for very Ismail houses, and 

 conditionally', in stfuin heating for hu'^^c liouses; 

 but at present w* can do little el.'-;e t)ut advise 

 our imiuirer to apply to the various advertising 

 manufacturers of heating apparatus for their 

 catalogues and prices, and then make such a 

 selection as his own judgment would dictate. 

 He can not go entirely amiss, as no reliable firms 

 now-a-days would send onfaii apparatus of this 

 kind, that would not do good service if properly 

 put up and managed. 



1,810. Old Man. This is probably an Artemisia, 

 the well-known Southern Wood^ A.7'temesia Ahro- 

 tanum, with finely divided leaves-having a fra- 

 grant, aromatic odor. The common Kosemarj', 

 Rofimarlnu!< otRcinalis, from which the oil used in 

 making the fragrant waters (Eau de Cologne) is 

 derived by distillation, sometimes goesundei the 

 common name "Old Man."— Gr. R. 



1,753. Fish Oeraniums not Blooming. The 

 cause of the trouble most likely is that the plants 

 are stimulated too highly, and have altogether 

 too much root room. Treat them a little less 

 liberally in these directions, and you will prob- 

 ably get bloom.— G. K. | 



1,801, Palm Seed. Aug. Rolker & Sons, 44 Dey 

 street. New York, are wholesale dealers in flower 

 and tree seeds, and import Palm and similar seeds 

 on order, but we do not think they keep the 

 latter in stock. Spring is the usual time for sow- 

 ing Palm seeds.— G. R. 



1,795. Raising Ferns from Seed. Some of the 

 commoner kinds of Ferns come readilj'' from 

 self-sown spores when there happens to be a 

 damp surface under ornear where the pots are 

 stood. In the case of such, says a foreign ex- 

 change, unless where large numbers are required, 

 there is no necessity for making any special pro- 

 vision for raising them. But there are many 

 species, comprising the rarest and most prized 

 kinds, that are very seldom obtainable unless the 

 spores are gathered at the right time and sown. 

 Where stock of any particular sort is to be raised. 

 it is well to sow as soon as the spores are ready. 

 The best way to proceed is to drain some moder- 

 ate sized seed-pans and fill them with a mixture 

 of sifted peat, broken sandstone, or crocks, and 

 enough sand to keen the material sweet. Fill the 

 pans moderately full, press the soil down fairly 

 firm, make the surface smooth, and then water 

 it well. The spores may either be shaken out 

 from the fronds, rubbed off, or the fronds may 

 be taken and cut into small pieces and sown witn 

 the spores attached to them. In either case sow 

 moderately thickly, and press them gently with 

 the hand on the soil. The pans should then be 

 stood in others that are a size or two larger, and 

 that are water-tight, so as to hold a little water. 

 This will be absorbed by the pans in which the 

 spores are sown. By this means the necessity 

 for giving water over-head will be avoided, and 

 in this way there will be no lianger of the spores 

 getting washed down into the soil. 



1,808. Summering House Plants. A good 

 answer to this query is given in Vicks' Magazine. 

 Whether greenhouse and window plants in gen- 

 eral should be kept in their pots or turned into 

 the open ground for the summer, says our con- 

 temporary, depends upon what is desired of them. 

 Probably most plants can be trained into better 

 form in pots than in the open ground, and if one 

 does not care for the labor, but seeks the best 

 results in the form of his plants, continuous pot 

 culture is best. But to lessen labor, most gar- 

 deners now turn their greenhouse plants out of 

 pots and into the open border for summer, and 

 repot about the fii-st of September. As a rule, 

 plants are cut back when so turned out. Aza- 

 leas may need attention to pruning some little 

 time before they are put out. We prefer to 

 plunge the pots of Azaleas in sand in the garden, 

 and not turn them out, though some gardeners 

 do so. Before these plants are turned out, and 

 when they have done blooming, the week wood 

 can be cut out and the shoots shortened, and a 

 top dressing of about an inch of fresh soil be 

 given to them. 



1,807. Gas Lime. Some time ago we inquired 

 of Prof. G. C. Caldwell of the t'hcmical Depart- 

 ment of Cornel! University about the value of 

 gas lime. The following is an extract of his 

 reply : Gas lime is composed chiefiy of carbon- 

 ate of lime, and varying quantities of sulphate 

 of lime or ordinary plaster, sulphite and sulp- 

 hide of lime, and more or less unchanged lime. 

 The sulphite and sulphide are harmful to vegeta- 

 tion ; but on exposure of the gas lime for a con- 

 siderable time to the air, they become changed 

 to the useful sulphate. The carbonate is of 

 little value, and only the sulphate and the un- 

 changed lime can be considered of any use. I 

 do not value the material much as a fertilizer; 

 for after an exposure to the air, to render the 

 sulphide and the sulphite harmless.the unchanged 

 lime will also in this time, be converted to car- 

 bonate so that only the sulphite is left to be use- 

 ful, and if I were going to use land plaster I 

 would prefer to buy it outright, and know what 

 I have. As an insecticide its use would be dan- 

 gerous, because of its etfects upon the plant 

 itself, unless it has been well aired, and as for its 

 usefulness in this lespect after being thus aired, 

 it w<tuM l)e same as a mixture of plaster and 

 chalk. Some few farmei"s report good results with 

 gas lime as a fertilizer, but not many, and others 

 report the crops killed to which it was applied. 



1,820. Grafting Cherries. We have done this 

 repeatedly in May with entire success, even in as 

 mild a climate as that of N. J. The following 

 statement is credited to Prof. J. L. Budd of Iowa: 

 When a few essential conditions are regarded, I 

 have found the Cherry quite as easy to graft as 

 the Apple. The Main requisite in top-working is 

 to have the cell structure of stock and cion in 

 the same condition. To secure the dormant 

 stock we must graft early, yet the success will 

 hinge upon the condition of the cion. On this 

 same iTineiple we ran graft the Cherry when 

 the buds have starti-d in the spring, if we cut the 

 cions as needed from treesabout equally .started. 

 As to rout gia fling, the same prinei pie holds good; 

 cions mu.vt l)e in about the same <-ondition as to 

 starting eireulation. If both are la the dormant 

 fondition ami the root grafts are kept in a cold 

 eelhir where (liey will not start until they are 

 set in nursery, nearly all will grow. The past 

 summer, we saved 95 per cent of all the Cherry 

 root grafts put out. 



