196 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



June, 



FRoH 

 THE 



SOCI£TICS 



TO BFwiosvf Knoym, 



Apples for Missouri. The 



^best are (Irinies' Golden, 



Jonathan, Koine Reauty, 



Winesap, Clayton and Ben 



liavis.— Sfc'y Guodman. 



Missouri Horticulturists. 

 The StaU' Society will meet 

 at Poplar BlutT, June 3d, 4th, 

 and 5th. Low rates on R. R arc secured.— X.. A . 

 Goixlmaii, Sn-relary. 



Buffalo Forists' Club. A Chrysanthemum 

 show will be held in the fall of this year. Advance 

 list of premiums and further information will be 

 furnislied by the secretary, Mr. Dan'l B. Long, 

 Buffalo, N. Y. 



The Asparagus Season. The plantation should 

 not be weakened by too long a season of gather- 

 ing. A good rule to follow is to stop when the 

 early Peas are ready to market from adjoining 

 land.— (7ia,s. W. (iarfidfl. 



Early Harvest Blackberry. It should be left 

 to three or four eyes. If you leave longer you 

 load it with fruit that won't ripen early, or 

 come to any size and if you trim closer you cut 

 off all the fruit buds.— (1ia.s. Wright hefiyre a 

 Fiirmein' Iiuttitttti:. 



Apples Along the Highway. J. B. Smith of 

 Indiana stated before the American Horticul- 

 tural Society that he planted 60tl Apple trees 

 along the roadside of his farm and it was the 

 best advertisement he ever had. The public 

 had all they wanted, and he often could not take 

 care of what was left. He advised every one to 

 try the plan. 



' Ohio State Horticultural Society. A summer 

 meeting will be held at the E.xperiment Station 

 in Columbus, June llth and 12th. Reduced rail- 

 way fares, a large attendance and a successful 

 meeting are expected. All horticulturists are 

 cordially invited to be present. Non-members 

 may write to the secretary for programmes. — W. 

 W. Farnsu'orth, Sec'y, WaterviUe, O. 



Chautauqua County Vineyards. The area is 

 rapidly increasing, and the so-called " Vineyard 

 District," which extends for forty miles along 

 the south-east shore of Lake Erie, will soon be 

 entirely given up to this industry. Last year 360 

 acres were devoted to the propagation of the 

 vine, and more than 10,000,000 cuttings were 

 rooted.- Prom Chautauqua County Report, VK 

 N. T. Hnrt. Society. 



American Horticultural Society. The long- 

 time secretary of this association. Prof. W. H. 

 Ragan, has been compelled by continued bad 

 health, first to decline a re-election, and also to 

 resign the unexpired term. He has been a faith- 

 ful servant, and has the everlasting gratitude 

 and good will of every member. The secretary 

 elect. Prof. E. A. Popenoe of Manhattan, Kans., 

 has been appointed for the unexpired terra, and 

 has already assumed the duties of the office. 



Native Grapes. More wild varieties are found 

 in this country than all the rest of the world 

 and Texas contains more wild species than all 

 the rest of the United States, of these Vitis 

 Champini is a line wild Grape of West Texas, 

 grows well on dry hills ; V. Solonis stands heat 

 and drouth ; an excellent species for Western 

 States; V. Linsecomii (Postoak), a fine wild 

 variety of East Texas, has berries as large as 

 Concord, and should, above all, be used in hybri- 

 dizing to bring out valuable varieties.— Pro/. T. 

 V. Munmn licfore the American Hort. Soc. 



American Association of Nurserymen. The 



fifteenth annual meeting of this association will 

 convene at the Park Avenue Hotel, New York 

 City, June 4th, and promises to be a notable 

 event. Among the horticulturists expected to be 

 present with off-hand talks or papers, are Profs. 

 I. P. Roberts, L. H. Bailey, J. L. Budd, B. E. 

 Fernow, B. T. Galloway, also Hon. H. E. Vande- 

 man, A. S. Fuller, etc. Reduced fares have been 

 secured on all railroads east of Chicago, and re- 

 duced prices at the new flie-proof hotel. For 

 particulars address Chas. A. Green, Secretary, 

 Rochester, N. Y. 



The Friendly Toad. The toad is more cleanly 

 than the poodle which some ladies caress and 

 take in their laps. He is the abiding friend of 

 the farmer and the horticulturist. He feeds 

 upon cut worms and regards the curculio that 

 infests the orchard as a great dainty. Toad 



houses should be built in every garden and 

 orchard. Four bricks are enough. In winter 

 dig a hole in rear of the house and cover him up. 

 In spring he will resurrect himself. The toad 

 has a long tongue and is a fine shot and scarcely 

 ever misses his aim or his game.— Z>7'. L. li. Clif- 

 ton before the Georgia Agricultural Sue. 



Exotic Grapes in Florida. During the dis- 

 cusssions before the State Horticultural Societj' 

 Mr. G. P. Quaintance stated he would set wild 

 roots, and next year graft on them. The Black 

 Hamburg did excellently well this way; on its 

 own roots it was a conspicuous failure. Mr. E. 

 O. Painter agreed with this \'iew ; had planted a 

 Niagara which made a growth of 50 or BO feet in 

 a year. A Black Hamburg grafted on a wild 

 root in a hammock, where it had always stood, 

 did remarkably well. Mr. R. W. Pierce told of 

 a vine that was brought to his neighborhood 

 from France. For several yeai-s it languished 

 miserably, but finally it was grafted on a wild 

 root and it now bears literally bushels of Grapes. 

 He had the Sweetwater grow 75 feet in one year. 



Planting Evergreens. 1 have adopted Ever- 

 greens as ornamental trees. I planted with care, 

 and lost hundreds of trees. Y^et I thought things 

 were done in the best manner possible, but that 

 wonU save the Evergreens from dying. All the 

 water and all the care in the world will not pre- 

 serve Evergreens, if you once let the dirt dry on 

 the roots. The outside moisture on the roots 

 must not be allowed to dry, if you want the tree 

 to live. There is a resinous substance on the 

 outside of the roots, and if the roots once be- 

 come dry, water can never penetrate that resin- 

 ous covering, and the plant cannot but die. 

 There is not a tree on my place that I don't 

 prune every year. I have a pair of long sheare, 

 and in some cases I climb the trees.— r>r. Lyons 

 before the Illinois State Hort. Soc. 



Sources of Phosphoric Acid. In the United 

 States bone was first used about 1790. The 

 first bone mill was established in 1830, and 

 superphosphate, or dissolved bone, was first 

 tried in 1851. In 1843 phosphatic rock was dis- 

 covered in Spain, and in 1808 in South Carolina. 

 The latter contains from twenty-five to thirty- 

 two per cent, of phosphoric acid. Three million 

 dollars' worth of it are now mined annually. 

 The phosphoric acid in thes'^ rock phosphates is 

 insoluble, but when ground and treated with 

 sulphuric acid they are converted into super- 

 phosphates or soluble phosphates. Another 

 valuable source Of phosphoric acid is bone black, 

 a waste product from the manufacture of sugar, 

 containing about thirty-four per cent, of insolu- 

 ble phosphoric acid.- Pro/. C. H. Whitcher before 

 the Ma.'is. Hort. Soc. 



Horticultural Education. For years past we 

 ha\-e been reaping the natural results of a sys- 

 tem of education that, intentionally or uninten- 

 tionally, turns all our young people for a livli- 

 hood towards the occupations of teachers,college 

 professors, lawyers, physicians, clergymen, book- 

 keepers, salesmen, musicians, artists, agents, and 

 business men- under which last head a multifa- 

 rious and heterogeneous legion of middlemen 

 are iileased to class themselves. These men 

 have had the control of educational affairs, and 

 they have kept the schools turning out their 

 kind so long that there is unquestionably in the 

 country an overwhelming surplus of middlemen, 

 non-producers and men living by their wits. 

 Such a surplus is bound to make trouble. All 

 are determined to live in affluence if possible— 

 genteely at all events.— Hod-i/ L. Clapp. Mn.<<s. 

 Hort. Soeiety. 



Hardy Boses. Pruning and Varieties. The 

 chief objects in pruning are to give and preserve 

 a symetrical form and to promote growth for 

 the flower buds. Plants of delicate habit and 

 weak growth require severe pruning ; those that 

 are vigorous in growth should have the shoots 

 moderately shortened, but the branches well 

 thinned out. The rule is that severe pruning 

 gives the best flowers but less of them ; and for 

 quality few plants should be left in the spring 

 exceeding two feet in height, though when an 

 excessive growth has been made the previous 

 season, it is not always safe to cut back too 

 severely. There is very little to choose as to 

 time betweeu late fall and early spring, though 

 I prefer to prune sparingly in the fall and com- 

 plete the work the following spring. As to 

 varieties a Rose for general cultivation must be 

 hardy, of free growth, of good form and color 

 and fragrant ; for exhibition purposes some of 

 the qualities may be wanting. There are other 

 desirable points, such as freedom of bloom, per- 



raanancy of color, beauty of foliage and the 

 like, but the Hi-st five are essential. Some of the 

 most beautiful exhibition flowers fall short of 

 the perfect Rose " Baroness Rothschild," the best 

 light-colored Rose in cultivation, hardy, perfect 

 in form and color, but an indifferent grower and 

 without fragrance. Mad Gabriel Luizet," 

 though not equal in form and color, is hardy, a 

 fine grower, and somewhat fragrant. "Louis 

 Von Houtte " is probably the best dark Rose we 

 have as an exhibition Rose, almost perfect in 

 form and color, deliciously fragrant, but of poor 

 growth, and not entirely hardy. Both " Fisher 

 Holmes " and " Baron de Bonstetten " would 

 outrank it, both being hardy, of fine growth, 

 good form and color, and fragrant. The only 

 ones in the lists which need protection are " Co- 

 ipiette des Blanches," " Eliza Boelle," " La 

 France "and " Louis Von Houtte," though the 

 fither might receive some benefit from it. 

 I ha\e both Blanches and Alps which have en- 

 dured the winters of the last twelve yeai-s with- 

 out any protection whatever; though the tops 

 are more or less injured, they renew their growth 

 quickly in the spring and bloom freely during 

 the summer. 



The Cantaloupe and Its Varieties. 



lE.rtract of jtajter rcful by Df. Iiobert P. Ilarrifi before 

 the Pennsi/fvania UortUultural .Snricty.) 



In the estimation of some i)eople, the Can- 

 taloupe has no equal among our summer 

 fruits. To get it in perfection, the fruit 

 should be removed from the vine shortly 

 before it is ripe, wa-shed with soap and cold 

 water, then dried in a soft towel, and set to 

 ripen in & dry place. A Cantaloupe that 

 before washing stnells like a Potato, will 

 in a few hours begin to give out an inviting 

 perfume, and when this odor has reached 

 its proper measure and character, is the 

 time to cut it. 



My own ideal Melon is of the size and form of 

 a large ostrich-egg; with a thin finely-netted 

 rind; thick, grass-green fiesh,asmall seed cavity 

 and a sweet aromatic flavor. The " Centre 

 Melon," a small green-fleshed Cantaloupe excel- 

 ling in richness of flavor all its competitors, 

 was the progenitor of the Jenny Lind variety 

 named about 1846. I am inclined to believe that 

 it originated in the east, possibly in Armenia, 

 where netted, green-fleshed Melons are produced 

 in abundance. These Armenia Melons belong 

 to a hardy race, are quite productive in our 

 climate, and can stand it quite as well as any 

 of our own kinds; they are as yet untirely un- 

 known to our seedsmen, but have been grown 

 under the severe test of the season of 1889. In 

 form they are flat, globular or oval, the last 

 being seven inches long, and all are fine-grained, 

 thin-rinded, green-fleshed and closely netted, 

 the last an unusual feature in our own varieties 

 last year. This oval Cantaloupe has come nearer 

 to my ideal than any one I have yet tested, and 

 I hope to give it a better trial this coming sum- 

 mer. As Oriental seeds always come mixed in 

 the packages, it will take time to separate the 

 varieties by selection. As I have discovered 

 Erzeroum, in Armenia, to be a great Melon 

 centre for both Cantaloupes and Watermelons 

 that are calmlated to stand our hot summers, 

 our enterprising seedsmen will take a step to 

 secure a full line of seeds. 



The Cantaloupe has largely multiplied in its 

 varieties in our country of latter years, and we 

 have now those that are white-fleshed, yelloVv- 

 fleshed, red-tteshed and salmon-Heshed. We 

 have also netted, toad-marked and smooth fruits, 

 with green, yellow and whitish rinds. Attempts 

 have been made to grow the winter varieties of 

 Naples and Malta, which may be ripened from 

 Christmas to Easter, but as yet with not much 

 of encouragement. 



In size the Cantaloupe varies as much as in 

 <iuality, and the extremes of weight (a few 

 ounces and flfty-two pounds, the largest being 

 coarse-grained and somewhat fibrous) in fruits 

 are produced, especially of the green-fleshed 

 varieties. The largest imported kind was intro- , 

 duced from Portugal, and of native varieties, 

 was brought recently from Colorado, both at 

 their maximum weighing over fifty pounds, and 

 being as large as very large Watermelons. For 

 a combination of large size and fine (juality, 

 perhaps no imported variety over equalled the 

 Persian Melon grown for many years in the 

 vicinit.v of Washington City, under the name of 

 the Hunter Cantaloupe, a long, golden, closely- 

 netted fruit, with green flesh, reaching twenty 



