1890. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



221 



plants deiuanil. it is rcplai-uil. Ti> do this docs not 

 re«i»iire one-tt-nth the labor entailed in water- 

 ing wlK'n plants are ^n)\vn on the usual prin- 

 ciple. There is a eorrespondinyr saving? of food 

 provided for the idant within the limits of the 

 pot. I think it cannot be tIispro\ed, or even 

 doubted, that rain will wa«h down into the 

 earth, and often Ixdow the reach of the roots of 

 plants to l>e carifxl away in tlie dniins, much of 

 the essence of manure when applied in autumn. 

 even if placed on the surface of the soil. Of 

 course considenibly more will be lost, if I may 

 use the term, on lifrht than heavy soils. What is 

 the rainfall of our climate in comparison with 

 the amount of water poured into the soil of 

 plants when they arc grown with their pots ex- 

 poscdy By plunging, evaporation is ari'ested to 

 a large extent, and it is not necessary to pour 

 one-tenth the quantity of water into the pot. 



Plunging provides the most uniform condition 

 about the roots both as regards moisture and 

 temperature. By the ordinary method of water- 

 ing this cannot be done, for the soil is seldom in 

 that satisfactory condition ; it is either wet or 

 dry, and they need water during dry weather 

 two or three times a day, more or less according 

 to e.xt«rnal conditions. 



I have said that by plunging a more uniform 

 temperature about the roots is maintained. The 

 roots beneath the surface may not become so 

 warm by da.v as those fully exposed, but thej' 

 are warmer at night. A pot exposed will be- 

 come frozen all round it, not only on the surface, 

 while the one plunged would only freeze on the 

 surface. By plunging the pots are protected 

 from extreme heat and cold, more in accordance 

 with the conditions provided for plants in a 

 natural state. 



Plunging the pots is advocated because it pro- 

 tects the roots from injury. How quickly are 

 the silk-like roots of many plants injured whin 

 the pots are exposed to the sun and the drying 

 conditions of the atmosphere; Even when the 

 sun has but little power, moisture from the pot 

 and soil is evaporated at such an enormous rate 

 that injury to the roots in a greater or less degree 

 can scarcely be prevented. Such injury means a 

 check to the plant, the evils of which may not be 

 perceptible for some time. 



Bj' plunging plants, earlier, quicker and in- 

 creased root acti\-ity is ensured, and in cons- 

 equence a t)etter and more luxuriant growth 

 follows. An example may be given to show the 

 difference in the supply of ^\ ater needed when 

 they are not. I have rooted Crotons in 2-inch 

 pots, and they have been repotted until they 

 were placed in 10-inch pots, and filled them with 

 roots before water was poured into the pots. 

 They were well syringed, and the plunging mat- 

 erial kept moist. Lift two Roses, pot them, and 

 plunge one outside in ashes below the surface, 

 aud stand the other on the walk. Water one 

 when it needs it, and give the other none, if the 

 soil is in a proper state of moisture when potted. 

 Examine when frost compels their removel to 

 frames, and it will be found that the plunged one 

 has double the roots of the other and she soil in a 

 much sweeter and better condition. Plunge 

 Lilacs, Guelder Hoses, or any similar plant after 

 potting or pruning in autumn in ordinary gar- 

 den soil for the next season's forcing, and the 

 season must prove exceptionally dry if they 



A HOME-MADE FRUIT DRYER. 



need a supply of water. From a general system 

 of plunging Orchids must, however, be except<'d. 

 I said it was necessary to consider the dis- 

 advantages that could be urged against plung- 

 ing. The only one of weight that can be brought 

 forward is that of over-watering. Now, this when [ 

 carefully considered, is a diflBculty that bears no 

 comparison with the mistakes that are made, 

 often unavoidably, in watering plants when 

 their pots are exposed. Watering properly when 

 the pots are plunged is a mere matter of train- 

 ing. If they are over-watered it arises from 

 either lack of proper training, ignorance, or 

 generally from carelessness. To water plants 

 properly when they are plunged only needs ob- , 

 sen-ation and thought. i 



CONDENSED GLEANINGS. 

 Mmhrooms in Opan Air. In September, IStw, 

 1 platilcd a brick of the spawn in a field of rich 

 pasture land, the operation being the simple act 

 of i-aising the sod with a spade, dropping into 

 the cavity a piece of the spawn as large as a 

 Walnut and pressing it back again. On the 

 :-'d October, 18H9, I was rewarded b.\' the sight of 

 my first Mushroom on the field planted in 1S8H. 

 I'rom my exiierience so far I conclude that the 

 spawn or germ of the Mushroom, once in rich 

 soil, resists for months higli or low temperature, 

 drought and saturation: but it does not develop 

 into the perfect Mushroom that pushes above 



PEAR-SHAPED APPLES. 



ground, except under certain soil and weather 

 conditions of heat and moisture, and tempera- 

 ture sustained for some days between 60 and 7.5 

 degrees Fahr. Days with these characteristics 

 are most apt to occur in May and October for 

 these latitudes, and sometimes in unusually cool 

 seasons in the summer months. Judging from 

 what I have observed so far, I conclude there is 

 no difficulty in growing Mushrooms on land as 

 rich in nitrogen and phosphates as the black 

 soil prairie, but the intense features of the 

 climate so much restrict the season of harvest, 

 sometimes abolishing it altogether, that the crop 

 must needs be a precarious one.— B. F. Johnson, 

 in Field and Farm. 



A Home-Made Frnit-Dryer. Our illustration 

 represents a cheap fruit-dryer, which may be 

 set upon the kitchen stove. It is made of inch 

 lumber, with a base of sheet iron four inches 

 wide to protect it from burning. The slats, 

 which are nailed inside to support the trays, are 

 two inches apart. The dryer may be made of 

 any height, from two to four feet, the capacity in- 

 creasing with the height. The trays upon which 

 the fruit is spread are mere frames of wood, of 

 a size to slide easily upon the slats of the dryer. 

 Each tray is bottomed with narrow strips of 

 wood, of a size to slide easily upon the slats of 

 the dryer. Each tray is bottomed with narrow 

 strips of wood, far enough apart to admit hot 

 air and hold the fruit from falling. Galvanized 

 wire netting would be better but more costly. 

 The dryer has an opening in the top for the es- 

 cape of the vapor-laden hot air and a handle on 

 each side for lifting it. The door has two trans- 

 verse cleats firmly screwed on the outside, to 

 prevent warping. The dryer may be made by 

 anyone who can use tools, at little expense.— 

 Am. Agriculturist. 



Pear-Shaped Apples. One of the most curious 

 examples of changes in fruit is represented in 

 engraving on this page. It will be seen what 

 appeal's to be a Pear and an Apple growing from 

 the stem, or one blossom producing a round and 

 another a Pear-shaped, fruit. Both fruits are 

 Apples alike in color, texture, and flavor, and 

 several others of the same nature have been 

 produced by the same tree. The specimens were 

 gathered from a seedling tree in the garden of 

 Mr. S. Gower, Ii)swich. The tree is a seedling, 

 but what of or how sown nobody knows. There 

 is no other tree of any kind on the ground. 

 There were this year certainly a score of these 

 twins, as well as many other bunches of round 



Apples. The Pear-shaped ones not only grow 

 singly but also in couples.— Journal of Horti- 

 culture, England. 



Fopoorn for Profit. .Many times the qunntit.^• 

 of Popcorn now grown would be used if rai.sed. 

 (Children are foml ot it, and it is better for them 

 than nuts or candy, and apparently just as satis- 

 factory. The price ranges from V5 cents to S3 

 per bushel of ears, it being the latter here now, 

 and scarce at that. A neighjjor sold his crop last 

 fall, nearly IM bushels from one acre, for gl a 

 bushel. A New York dealer offers to take all a 

 friend of mine will raise this year-price not 

 quoted, because not asked. A prominent seed 

 firm tells me, the small, white, flint Popcorn gen- 

 erally brings best price. I have raised it, and can 

 produce as much per acre, both stover and grain, 

 as of large field of Corn of any kind. In rows 3 

 feet apart each way and four stalks in a hill, it 

 yields two ears per stalk and often three.— Trib. 



Double Stock. The Large-Howered Dwarf Ger- 

 man Stocks are much superior to the ordinary 

 Ten-week kinds. When transplanting them at 

 any stage, throw away any strong-growing for- 

 ward examples with coarse forked-roots, as these 

 are sure to produce only single ttowei's, retaining 

 only those of moderate and compact growth, 

 with a tuft of fibrous roots. When in full growth 

 give plenty of water, but only when dry. Inter- 

 mediate, East Lothian, and Brompton stocks are 

 biennial (though the first two will bloom the 

 same autumn if sown early in a little heat), and 

 should be sown about July, wintered in cold 

 frames, and planted out in early spring. They 

 produce finer spikes than the annual kinds, but 

 for small gardens at any rate, are hardly so 

 useful.— Gardening Illustrated (London). 



The Prophet Flower, from Northern Persia, is 

 one of the choicest and most interesting of gar- 

 den plants. It belongs to the Borage familj-, 

 comes into bloom about the middle of May, and 

 has Primrose yellow flowers with five black crim- 

 son spots on their face, and these spots which are 

 so rt^id when the flowers open, gradually disap- 

 pear till in a few days no trace of them is left. 

 Although this plant has been in cultivation for a 

 good many years, it is stUl high priced and scarce 

 in cultivation, and seldom included in price lists 

 in this country.— Wm. Falconer in Am. Florist. 

 Alpine PrimQlaB. I regard Primula spectabi- 

 lis as one of the gems of my collection of hardy 

 Primulas. It is early to bloom, a good grower, 

 free, and by no means impatient of a little rough 

 treatment; the flowers are produced in trusses, 

 and they are of a very pleasing shade of magen- 

 ta-rose. I have to grow these hardy Primulas in 

 pots, not without some rests during the summer 

 while I am from home for several days. I find 

 it helpful to place a few stones about the roots 

 and on the surface of the soil of all cultivated in 

 pots.— Gardening World. 



CMckory. This is a very easy crop to grow. 

 Although a perennial, it is treated as an annual. 

 In fact, the culture does not differ, if roots are 

 wanted, from that of the Parsnip or Salsify. By 

 fall the roots will be an inch or inch and a half in 

 diameter, and will weigh from 6 to 12 oz. The 

 roots are cut into thin slices, roasted and then 

 ground. The Brunswick and Magdeburg are the 

 best sorts for root production. For leaf -salads, 

 for which Chicory is much grown, these sorts 

 and several others are good. Am. Garden. 



A Japan Gotird, The largest of the edible 

 Gourds tested by Dr. Harris is the Kampiyo, of 

 Okayama, Japan, which grows a yard long and 

 five or more inches thick, and in Japan, reaches 

 a weight of sixty or seventy pounds. The Jap- 

 anese dry it before it is cooked ; it may be sliced 

 and fried like Egg-plant, and is equal in flavor to 

 a good Squash. The plant is hardy, productive 

 and without musk odor, and Squash bugs do not 

 seem to be fond of it.— Garden and Forest. 



The Sweet Chestnut. Many of the oldest man- 

 sions in England have been built of its wood. 

 Possessing all the strength, durability, and 

 toughness of the Oak, the Chestnut has the ad- 

 vantage over it that it has a finer color. When 

 an iron nail or bolt has been driven into Oak be- 

 fore it was dry, a black stain will be found. This 

 is not the case with the Chestnut, and the two 

 species of wood in old buildings can easily be 

 distinguished by this. — Horticultural Times. 



Tornips for Seed. In Pennsylvania, the seed is 

 sown between the rows of corn, after the last 

 working. This gives Turnips about two inches 

 in diameter, the most desirable size for seed pur- 

 poses. In this manner a good crop is secured at 

 a nominal cost, as they require no working after 

 sowing. Sufficient roots can be grown with an 



