POPULAR GARDENING 



AND FRUIT GROWING. 



"ACCUSE NOT NATURE, SHE HATH DONE HER PARI: DO THOU BUT THINE." -Uiuron. 



Vol. V. 



SES'TEDyCBEE,, 1890. 



No. 12. 



The ComsUk tassels on the ridge 



Are bronzing in the sun ; 

 The Elderberries by the bridge. 



And all along the run, 

 Grow purple through the golden days ; 



Barberries by the wall 

 Glow crimson in the silver haze 

 That ushers in the Fall. 



—Annie M. Libby. 



Califorkia's Boom. The season of 1890 bids 

 fair to be remembered in the horticultural his- 

 tory of California as a boom year of the first 

 kind. The Prune crop alone is estimated to be 

 close to 15,000.000 pounds, and the prices of all 

 dried fruits are steadily advancing. 



The Agent System of selling fruit trees and 

 plants notwithstanding it is so often abused, has 

 its decidedly good points. We have always held 

 that it is ■much better people were urged and 

 persuaded to plant and care for fruit trees and 

 plants, even if the agents made them pay a good 

 round price for the stocls, than that any home 

 or family should be without fruits. There are 

 thousands of landowners in this country who 

 never would think of buying plants if not per- 

 sonally, and perseveringly solicited to do so. 

 The enjoyment of fruits which is one of the 

 greatest comforts and blessings of life, has 

 actually to be forced upon a great number of 

 rural people. We only protest against the abuses 

 of that system. 



Nothing to sell Here. Our subscriber, W. 

 Chapman, Cedar Co., la., sends us an order for 

 Buhach, together with a remittance for the same 

 which we have been put to the trouble of return- 

 ing to him. He also requests our prices tor 

 Strawberry plants. We had supposed that every 

 subscribar to our journal was aware that we are 

 in no sense nur.^erymen, although we conduct 

 experiment grounds on which are tried all nov- 

 elties as they appear. We have from the first 

 made it a rule to sell nothing except our journal 

 and some books, and to this policy we shall 

 strictly adhere. To this subscriber we would say 

 that the various articles inquired about are ad- 

 vertised from time to time in our journal, and 

 he is respectfully referred to the parties whoso 

 advertise them. 



Electric Light is a great slayer of insects. 

 Prof Lintner, New York's State Entomologist, 

 believes that the average number of the insects 

 destroyed in a night by a single electric light is 

 nearly 100,000. The larger portion of Prof. Lint- 

 ner's specimen collection from one light con- 

 sisted of minute gnats, midges, crane flies, and 

 similar small two-winged insects. No mosquitoes 

 were discovered among the victims, as they are 

 not attracted to the lights. There were, however, 

 large numbers of plant bugs, which are injurious 

 to vegetation, particularly of one small species 

 of a handsome green gassid, which feeds upon 

 our grasses. A number of the moths, and one of 

 the leaf-rollers which have made such havoc in 

 our fruit trees this season, were found, as well 

 as other species of the same family. Prof. Lint- 

 ner was sorry to discover also a numl)er of the 

 beautiful gauze wings among the heaps of the 

 slain, as their iarvit are the aphis lions which aid 

 in keeping down plant lice. The electric light, 

 says Prof. Linter, will undoubtedly prove an 

 active agent in the reduction of insect pests, and 

 also furnish entomologists with many rare spec- 

 imens and with many species never before seen. 



Plum Leaf or Shothole Fungus. 

 A peculiar form of fungus on the leaves 

 of some of our Cherry trees attracted our 

 attention early in July. It appeared in 

 brownish spots which soon assumed definite 

 outlines, at last dropping out altogether, 

 leaving holes as if made by a charge of the 

 shot-gun. A leaf thus affected is shown in 

 the accompanying illustration. 



This same fungus attacks the leaves of 

 Plum trees, and is known as Plum leaf or 

 shot hole fungus {Scptoria cfraKina, Peck), 

 and sometime results in premature dropping 

 of the leaves, which prevents the fruit from 

 maturing. In our own case during two 

 season, we did not notice any serious con- 

 sequences of the attacks, which presumably 

 were not severe ones. 



We are not aware that remedies for the 

 disease have been tried, or found efficacious. 

 Burning the leaves as soon as they fall, is 

 suggested as a probable check to the spread 

 of the fungus. Spraying in May and June 

 with copper solutions, such as the Bordeaux 

 mixture, am- 

 moniated car- 

 bonate of cop- 

 per solution, 

 eau celeste, or 

 perhaps with 

 sodahyposhul. 

 phite solution, 

 is the treats 



th crrnivor Appearance of the Shothole Fungus in the Cherry. 



Annual Convention of American 

 Florists in Boston. 



The fifth annual convention of American 

 Florists at Boston, August 19-23, was one of 

 the largest meetings ever held by this the 

 youngest of our national horticultural 

 societies. Some 800 delegates were present 

 accompanied in many instances by their 

 wives and daughters. 



For some reason the proceedings were not 

 of as high an average value as in former 

 conventions of this society. The papers 

 were of a kind seemingly which did not 

 call out free discussion. Even the question 

 box, with answers assigned to leading 



grower 



may most likely expect to give him protec- 

 tion against the attack of this fungus. 



The Alolne Wood Strawberry. 



The remarks on Alpine Strawberries in a 

 recent issue of Popular Garden ixg have 

 brought out some requests for further in- 

 formation. 



The Alpine Strawberries, as indicated by 

 the name, are natives of the Alps, and dis- 

 tinguished from the common wild or wood 

 Strawberries, of Europe, especially by their 

 habit of bearing continuotisly all through 

 the summer. We do not concede to this 

 class of Strawberries any practical value for 

 average people. None of its various varie- 

 ties is a "fill basket'' Strawberry, the fruit 

 is too small, and not bulk enough to be of 

 any account for market. At the same time 

 the fruit possesses a peculiar perfume, and 

 richness of flavor, which, with its everbear- 

 ing character, renders it interesting and of 

 value for the well-to-do amateur. 



The varieties reproduce themselves exact- 

 ly in every respect from seed, and European 

 gardeners usually raise their supply of 

 plants in this way rather than from rim- 

 ners. They agree in the opinion that plants 

 grown from seed are more vigorous and 

 more productive than the others. Some of 

 the varieties of Bush Alpines produce no 

 runners, and are always increased by seed, 

 or by division of the tufts. These Bush 

 Alpines are hardy, productive and continous 

 bearers. 



If a good supply of berries is desired late 

 in autumn, the plants might be rested by 

 the removal of earlier fruit stalks and run- 

 ners, and by providing them plentifully 

 with moisture during the summer heat. If 

 exposed to heat and drought, the plants will 

 cease to fruit. We believe that the plants 

 will be most likely to yield fruit continuously 

 all through the summer and fall, if planted 

 in soil quite rich in humus, and in a half 

 shady situation. The conditions would 

 then resemble more nearly those found in 

 their native home. When thus treated the 

 Alpines should yield almost as abundantly 

 in September as in spring. 



florists was rather a spiritless affair. Is 

 it possible that the florists have been so 

 flushed by the remarkable success of their 

 young society in the past, that they begin 

 to feel that any kind of programme or any 

 manner of participation in the meetings on 

 the part of members should prove success- 

 ful ? If so it is a grave mistake which the 

 executive board would do well to look 

 closely into with a view to proper remedies. 

 There certainly .should be no lack of sub- 

 jects, to occupy the close attention of hun- 

 dreds of enterprising florists during three 

 or four days of the annual convention. In 

 kindred associations, more especially that 

 of the lAmerican nurserymen, the interest 

 in the annual meetings and discussions is 

 clearly on the increase, so it should be with 

 the present society. If the interest in the 

 educational features of the convention 

 sessions is really showing signs of waning, 

 not a few friends of the society could be 

 found who would attribute the unfortunate 

 state to an undue love for play and pleasure 

 on the part of members during convention 

 time. It is one of the excellent objects of 

 these meetings to combine recreation with 

 work, but it would be a grave error to give 

 the former the greater prominence. We 

 have confidence that this is far from the 

 florists' intentions. We believe that with 

 observing the present signs they will so call 

 a halt on the weaker features of this so- 

 ciety's past experience, as to evolve a future 

 career in every way as creditable to them- 

 selves as has been so much of the past. 



For a city in which to hold a florist's con- 

 vention no other in America could surpass 

 Boston. Here the culture of plants and 

 flowers both commercially and in private 

 places has, all in all, made greater advance- 

 ment than in any other section of the 

 country. We doubt not that the magnifi- 

 cent exhibition of well-grown plants and 

 flowers by the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society during convention week proved a 

 complete revelation to most of the florists 

 present. Certainly no other city could make 

 an equally fine display of the products of 

 the plantsman's art. The visits by the con- 



