20o 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



July, 



Notes from the Popular Gardening 



Grounds at La Salle-on-the- 



Niagara. 



The Strawberry Patch. Fruit of the ear- 

 liest varieties only just bepns to ripen at this 

 writing. Alpha, according to its name, should 

 be earliest, and so it seems to be; fruit hardly of 

 medium size, of fine spicy flavor, and very firm. 

 Plant healthy, but not of strong growth. Haver- 

 land is remarkable for size, thrift and health of 

 its foliage, and the amount of fruit now cover- 

 ing the ground under the immense leaves. Itasca 

 has large foliage, but is inclined to rust. Ivanhoe 

 also shows healthy foliage, and fruit of largest 

 size and good quality. What a contrast in size 

 there is between the Wilson and Warfleld, both 

 ju fruit and plant. We might call the Warfield 

 a magnified Wilson, and a magnificent one be- 

 sides. It is a great producer of plants, with 

 enormous, healthy foliage, and plenty of very 

 large fruit, which has some of the characteristics 

 of the Wilson in appearance, flavor, and texture. 

 The Alpines, for practical purposes, are not 

 worth the space they occupy. Monmouth is 

 early, but rather small in both fruit and plant, 

 and hardl.v very productive. Lower makes a 

 good plant, but shows only little fruit, Logan 

 does not show the same thrift and health of 

 foliage as it did a year ago, but is reasonably 

 productive of fruit, which is large. Livingstone 

 has goo<l foliage, and long, sweet, fruit which is 

 of only medium size, and not any too firm. 

 Crystal City has \ery little fruit, and this is 

 rather small, but of very fair quality. Old Col. 

 Cheney is evidently played out so far as this 

 location is concerned. Altogether our planta- 

 tions at tkis early date indicates nothing more 

 promising in the Sti-awberr.v line than Bubach, 

 Haverland, and Warfleld. We do not present 

 this as final judgment, even for this season. 

 Further notes, and more in detail will be given 

 in August number. 



Seedung Potato Plant. The origination 

 of new varieties in vegetables, as well as in fruits 

 must always offer cimsiderable attraction to the 

 enthusiastic horticulturist. Whether we get an 

 effective law tor the protection of originators or 

 not, the slight iirospect, that one or the other of 

 the new varieties may prove to be especially 

 valuable, will always be most palatable setison- 

 ing to the undertaking. Of course, we bavc 

 again raised our patch of new seedling Potatoes. 

 The seeds germinate so freely in the loose soil of 

 frames under glass protection, that we tried 

 them also in oix;n air, sowing them like Lettuce 

 or Radish seeds. But hea^y rains packed the 

 soil hard soon aferwards, and the young plants 

 were not strong enough to break the crust. 

 Undoubtedly the safer and better way is to sow 

 the seed in frames, and transplant to open 

 ground afterwards. 



We here illustrate one of our seedling plants 

 as it appeared when taken from the frame in the 

 eighth week from seed, and transplanted once 

 before. It will be seen that the young tubeis 

 are already started. 



Plant.s of this age, if well hardened off before 

 removal to oiien ground, are also hardy enough 

 to stand poisonous applications. We dusted 

 slug shot over them pretty freely, but while this 

 did not seem to do injury to the plants, some of 

 these were eaten off by bugs. The majority, how- 

 ever, and among them the thriftiest in the lot, 

 escaped, and are now growing rapidly, and 

 pretty much out of danger. We find our 

 bottomless fiower pots ( 5-inch size ), or short 

 pieces of tile of that size, when placed one over 

 each plant, a reasonably sure protection against 

 bugs and cold during the most critical period of 

 the plant's life, and much cheaper than gauze 

 tents built over the rows. 



Among our last years' seedlings we have some 

 with remarkably thrifty foliage, and if ever we 

 find a real good variety among them, we shall 

 attempt to preserve its original vigor and pro- 

 ductiveness by continued planting of whole 

 tuljers under high cultivation. It appears to us 

 very likely that originators, in their desire to 

 multiply their stock at the most rapid rate, 

 resort to a method of close cutting which must 

 greatly injure the original vitality of the new 

 seedling. We would steer clear of such a 

 serious mistake. 



Effects of Perslstent Weed De.structiok. 

 No doubt it is much easier and quicker done to 

 befoul a clean piece of land with noxious weeds, 

 than to free the land, once over-run with weeds, 

 again from these bad occupants. One year's 

 seeding often makes many years of weeding, 

 and of weeding, too, which is any thing but a 



pleasure, as we hapitened to find out this spring 

 in a part of our Sti-awberry jiat^-h, where weedy 

 manure was put on last autumn. 



With a little persistency, in keeping weeds 

 down, however, the improvement of the land, 

 so far as comparative freedom from weed 

 growth, is steady and gratifying. Many weeds, 

 such as Mustard, Wild Carrots, and most annuals, 

 can be almost entirely eradicated by a two or 

 three season's persistent pulling up or cutting 

 do»vn. In short, clear cultivation for a few 

 years in succession will bring the weediest soil 

 in subjection, and make it a pleasure to work it. 



A Fine " Foliage " Bed. " Where are the 

 shrubs with magnificent leaves that grew here ' 



ami until the gra.^'s became strong. After that 

 the only attention given was that of the lawn 

 mower in the weekly cultivation of the grass. 

 The present season not more than half-a-dozen 

 Thistles have been discovered, and they feeble, 

 where last year there were hundreds. We wish 

 the Uandelir>n, Plantain and Rib Grass, were as 

 easy to subdue from a lawn. The difiiculty in 

 managing the latter is that they seed so freely. 

 The Virginian Cowslip. Great pleasure is 

 taken in cultivating on our grounds the beauti- 

 ful native hardy flowers. Among the gems 

 of this class worthy a place in any garden 

 is the handsome Virginian Cowslip or Lungwort 

 {Pulnumaria Virginiana) of which an engraving 



said a subscriber who occasionally visited these ! at one-half size, drawn from nature, is shown 



grounds last season, as he pointed to a certain 

 bed on his first visit this year. The bed was one 

 in which had been growing a mass of trees and 

 shrubs bearing conspicuous foliage, and showing 

 a very rank growth as a result of a well-fed soil. 



annexed. It is really one of the most elegant 

 ornaments of the flower garden in May, the 

 bright clear blue of the flowers being matchle.ss. 

 Clumps of the plant grown in conjunction with 

 the white Narcissus which blooms at the same 



Most of the growth had been cut to the ground, 1 time makes as lovely a contrast as one could 



in early spring, hence their absence from the 

 visitors gaze. It was the treatment decided 

 upon for these growths and because of the satis- 

 factory appearance of the bed last year afld its 

 even better promise the present season we take 

 pleasure in referring to, and commending it 

 to our readers. 



The aim in planting the bed was to secure 

 a striking growth of foliage with plants pictur- 

 esque in appearance and yet so hardy as not to 

 need resetting from year to year. Chief among 

 the kinds employed are the following : 



Chinese Aralia {A ralia Mamlschurifa). 



Japan Aralia {Aralia Jai)"»ica). 



AngelicaTree or Hercules Club(-4 ralia sinttosa). 



Empress Tree iPawUnrnia imprrailis). 



Ailanthus (Ailantlntx glandukisiui). 



Golden Catalpa (Vatalpa blununuiilm aurca). 



Von Geert's Golden Poplar. 



Fern-leaved Elder (Samlmcus nigra hcttr- 

 ophylla.) 



Siberian Dogwood. 



Great Knotweed (Piilimi'iitim empidatum). 



The Keed (^rit»((ii lioHOJ-). 



The Variegated Keedf.-l naiihi tl)inn.r varicyata). 



The first nine kinds named were cut to the 

 ground both last spring and a year earlier. The 

 new shoots thrown out from the roots, 

 became very rigorous in this rich soil and the 

 foliage of a size and beauty quite remarkable. 

 At the present writing June 16th, numerous 

 young leaves on the Aralias are three feet long 

 and of same width individually, on young shoots 

 not above fourfeet high. From now until frosts 

 the growth will be rapid and 

 magnificent, and the bed as a whole 

 one of the most attractive on our 

 grounds No expense has Ijeen 

 incurred on it the present season 

 beyond the cost of manure applied 

 in the tall, and spading up the 

 surface shallow this spring. 



This bed is in the line of what 

 is styled subtropical gardening, 

 but with the sub-tropical plants 

 such as Palms, Bananas, Uraciv- 

 nas, Caladiums and other tender 

 kinds requiring the protection of 

 glass in winter, left <)Ut, Those 

 use<l are all hardy as far north as 

 Niagara Falls with the slightest 

 protection in winter. The foliage 

 by the annual cutting down pro- 

 cess is as grand as anything in 

 Nature. None of the kinds used 

 are of delicate habit -in most cases 

 they are quite the reverse of this. 



Why should not a thousand of our readers 

 have Just such a showy bed on their grounds V 

 The trees and plants employed were procured 

 irom the nurseries of Ellwanger & Barry, 

 Rochester, N. Y., and Parsons & Sons, Flushing, 

 N. Y. None were unusually expensive. Once 

 such a collection is planted and it will be of use 

 and increase in beauty for many years. 



Canada Thistles on the Lawn. Here and 

 there over our grounds we have found a patch 

 of Canada Thistles, a weed looked upon as one 

 of the worst to be met by cultivators. One 

 small pateh occupied a place north of our dwel- 

 ling and where we desired to have lawn. Not 

 detered by the Thistles this part was graded and 

 seeded down a year ago, along with adjoining 

 parts. The Thistles came up thickly even ahead 

 of the grass. They were cut off just below the 

 surface with a spud made out of a table-knife 

 blade set into a handle five feet long. The cut- 

 ting was reiwated a tew times during the season 



desire to see in the flower garden. 



The flowers of the Cowslip look like so many 

 small bright blue pendulous trumpets, each 

 springing from a prismatic, pentagonal, five- 

 toothed caly.v : flower-stems from one to one and 

 one-half feet high. Soon after its heavy mass of 

 bloom the plant appears to die away and is not 

 seen until the following spring. It is |iropagated 

 by division of the roots which are thick and 

 fleshy. It may be found growing wild in half 

 shady woods at intervals throughout Pennsyl- 

 vania and adjoining states. I'nlike some native 

 flowers, conspicuously the Golden Itod, this 

 Cowslip does not partake of a weedy nature, 

 either by spreading rapidly or in its appearance. 

 Plants may be obtained from leading plant 

 nurseries at low cost. 



Soil Diffictlties. We have had some ex- 

 perience before this in getting ordinar.v, well- 

 worn farm land into shaiie for gardening pur- 

 poses, and long since given up the idea that the 

 best results can be obtained on such soil right 

 from the start l).\- the application of manure, 

 and of high culture. No matter how good the 

 manure, and in what quantities put on the first 

 season, the crops will be less satisfactory than 

 they will be in succeeding seasons, when the good 

 treatment, as begun, is continued year after 

 yesir. In other word, ordinary laml needs a 

 course of prepai'ation, we might say training, 

 Ijcfore it can do its Ijest. Without a large 

 amount of accumulated plant foods in the soil, 

 in all stages of availability, maximum crops can 

 not be produced. By a judicious combination of 



Earliest Forcing Radishes on Our Qrounds 



manvires— well-rotted compost, high-grade com- 

 plete commercial fertilizer, nitrate of soda, how- 

 ever, we have always, and again this season^ 

 been enabled to grow pretty fair ganien crops on 

 well-worn soil even the first season. Such a 

 combination of manures, all in generous rations, 

 say at the rate of 40 two-hor.se loads of compost, 

 I'iOO lbs of high-grade complete fertilizer, and iV) 

 lbs of nitrate of soda per acre, gives usually far 

 better results than e\'en excessive doses of barn- 

 yard manure or fertilizer alone will do. 



Nitrate ok Sod* on Spinach. A glance at 

 our Spinach patch should convince the most 

 sceptical of the value of nitrate of soda for 

 certain purposes. The portion where this salt 

 had been repeatedly applieil, although in very 

 small doses (.50 to 7.') lbs per acre each time', 

 shows a remarkable thrift of foliage altogether 

 lacking in the portion left without such applica- 

 tion. It is a jilain demonstration that Spinach is 

 Just the crop on which the use of nitrate of soda 



