1 888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



41 



Red as it would be easier to cultivate and manage, 

 and now 1 wish also that I had planted so as to 

 have tilled in around the roots after they had 

 started, the crownsbeing then just below the sur- 

 face, for they would be stronger in hard winds, 

 and when being covered for winter. A mistake I 

 made was in not giving winter protection to my 

 Raspberries and Blackberries. Not because they 

 winter kill, but because a larger crop is more 

 certain. Last fall I buried all I had, and one acre 

 required but si.\ days work including shortening- 

 in the bushes and removing the cut brush. This 

 shortening-in put the plant in better shape to 

 cultivate, makes the bushes more self-supporting 

 and giving a crop of berries of larger size and 

 more uniformity, besides ripening in a shorter 

 time. I do not pinch off the new growth of 

 either Blackberries or Raspberries, but allowed 

 the new sprouts to grow at will, as I think they 

 are more easily buried than if much branched. 



Some of the Blackberry bushes I put under 

 were % of an inch through, but by using a com- 

 mon four-tined fork to lift the roots while 

 bending the bush, I got them down in very fair 

 shape. Another very handy tool I used was a 

 round pointed shovel. The style of hoc I use in 

 cultivating all small plants and especially Straw- 

 berries is made by taking a common hoe and cut- 

 ting off the upper corners, from the shank to the 

 corners of the cutting edge. File smooth where 

 cut and keep the edge on a straight line. This 

 tool properly sharpened is far superior to any 

 other for hand use where close work is desirable. 



In Grape culture I wish to note the desirability 

 of getting good pliable trunks on vines, which 

 should be three to five feet long from the roots 

 to the fruit branches. Such a trunk will handle 

 easily in giving winter protection, permits the 

 vine being put high enough for to keep the fruit 

 clean and also makes it less liable to mildew. For 

 a trellis I use only White Oak stakes seven and 

 one half feet long, as I determined not to put up 

 costly wire or fixtures until my bank account 

 derived from the \'ineyard was greater than I 

 had use for. On the same plan I have through- 

 out pursued a conservative course, determined 

 that after a reasonable start my fruit should 

 support me, rather than be a constant sink for 

 hard work and money, and everything has paid, 

 me that has been attended to. 



CONDENSED GLEANINGS. 



A History of Sea-Kale. This favorite vegeta- 

 ble derives its name from having been originally 

 found growing wild upon the sea-coast where its 

 tender shoots, blanched by the drifting of the 



Appearance uf tht Perennial Onion. 

 sand, were occasionally eaten by the families of 

 the fishermen. It was not seen in a London mar- 

 ket until about a century since. Sir William 

 Jones, who lived at Chelsea some time in the 

 middle of the last century, highly appreciated the 

 excellencies of this deUclous and deUcately fla- 



vored esculent, and endeavored to reintroduce it 

 to the markets, with a moderate amount of suc- 

 cess. It was always in favor amongst the Scot- 

 tish people, and may now be found in most Con- 

 tinental markets, especially in France. When 

 blanched and well served, it equals, if it does not 

 surpass. Asparagus in delicacy of flavor. The 

 young shoots and unopened leaves are the best 

 parts of Sea-kale, but the larger leaves may be 

 scraped and served like Asparagus, and is also 

 useful for soups. Forced Kale is most delicate 

 in mid-winter, but it should not be exposed to 

 the light, as that renders it strong and bitter; 

 therefore, after cutting, keep the heads in the 

 dark, or carefully covered; if allowed to become 

 stale and discolored it is worthless. Sea-kale is 

 generally eaten plainly boiled and served on but- 

 tered toast with melted butter poured over.— 

 British Journal of Catering. 



Black Walnut Tree Growing. Mr. George 

 Van Houteu, who is regarded as good authority 

 in such matters, says if the husks are removed it 

 is safe to count that about 1,000 nuts will make a 

 bushel. With the husks on, from 500 to 800 per 

 bushel would be a reasonable estimate. Some 

 years many of the nuts are abortive, while other 

 years nearly all will grow. A fair estimate of 

 their germinating qualities can be made by 

 cracking a few, as nearly aU plump, natural-ap- 

 pearing kernels will grow, under favorable cir- 

 cumstances. It is best to plant rather more 

 nuts than trees are wanted, for, like most nut- 

 bearing trees, the Walnut does not transplant 

 easily. After being gathered the seed should 

 not be allowed to dry; if shipped a distance, the 

 nuts will keep from diying out with damp moss 

 about them. In the fall they can be planted at 

 once, and covered three or four inches deep in 

 well-prepared ground. If planted in the spring, 

 ovei winter, spread the nuts two or three layers 

 deep, mixed with earth or leaves, and covered 

 lightly; if the ground is moist, at least part of 

 the rains should be kept off, planting as soon as 

 the frost is out of the ground. Good cultivation 

 should be given tor the first few years, after 

 which but little further care.— Iowa Homestead 



Perennial Onions. These are something new 

 in Onions, as they never form a large bulb, and 

 their value lies wholly in the special adaptability 

 for producing green Onions for fall or spring 

 use, particularly the latter; soon attaining a 

 marketable size, are immensely productive and 

 perfectly hardy. Being perennial, they will, if 

 left in the ground, continue growing for an in- 

 definite time, continuing to increase both from 

 the bottom and from sets produced on top of 

 the stalk. The old set within the ground, closely 

 resembles the wasted bulb of other Onions after 

 having seeded. In their culture the sets should 

 1 le planted as soon as they have reached maturity, 

 not waiting until dry, as they thus derive the 

 benefit of prolonged growth, and attain a larger 

 size. Plant in drills with a depth of three to four 

 inches, to bleach the ensuing growth to some 

 length. The set produces from one to three 

 large fine shoots the first season after planting, 

 but if left undisturbed new sets are again pro- 

 duced from the the top the same season, and by 

 the following fall and spring the original Onion 

 will have formed a clump of sprouts numbering 

 from ten to twenty, as shown in the cut.— Wm. 

 C. lieckert's Catalogue. 



Destroying Wireworms. These are the larva; 

 (if the click beetles, of which there are several 

 species, the most common being A gri^ttctf lineatut*. 

 There is really no cure for these pests save high 

 cultivation and the encouragement of starlings 

 and other birds; amongst flowers, trap with hol- 

 low Carrots or other roots, examining on alter- 

 nate days, and destroying the larva> found 

 adhering to them. The only thing which can be 

 advantageously used among garden crops, is 

 ground linseed cake sown broadcast over the 

 ground from time to time. This is eaten greedily 

 by the wireworms, who burst as the dust be- 

 comes moist, and thus perish. Where soil is used 

 for potting in which wireworms are thought to 

 exist, it should be baked for some hours, a pro- 

 cess which will destroy all living organisms.— 

 American Cultivator. 



A Hare Fmit. White Huckleberries are grow- 

 ing on the summit of East Knob, near Blooming 

 Grove, Pa. The berries are about the size of 

 wild Cherries, creamy white and very sweet, the 

 yield this year being twelve bushels, though 

 twenty bushels have been produced in a season. 

 The owner of the land, a Mr. Hobday, keeps 

 away outsiders, picks the crop and sells it to a 

 I Philadelphia fruit dealer, who has taken it for 



years at five dollars per bushel. In Sussex 

 County, N. J., on lands owned by a Mr. Evcritt, 

 is another white Huckleberry area, the yield of 

 which rarely exceeds one bu.shel. These two 

 localities are said to be the only ones where white 

 Huckleberries grow in notable quantities, but 

 there is probably a sprinkling wherever the 

 ordinary fruit is found.— N. Y. Sun. 



Seed Baising in California. There is no soil 

 and climate in the world which produces so 

 abundantly, flfiwer sceils of superior grade as 

 that of California. Great quantities of Verbena, 

 Smilax, Pansy, Begonia, Fuchsia, Petunia, Ta- 

 conia, etc., and innumerable rare seeds, worth 

 almost their weight in gold, annually go to waste, 

 because people have not learned their value, and 

 there is no one to buy them if they had. Conse- 

 quently this great industry Ues almost dormant, 

 waiting for the magic touch of enterprise to 

 awaken us to a sense of squandered wealth. 

 California's value does not all lie in Oranges, 

 Apricots and wine, these industries only bring 

 wealth to the favored few, but in Flora's Do- 

 minion, every door yard 

 however humble, can 

 have a measurably pros- 

 perous part.— C. Florist. 



Cape Cod Cranberries. 



The Cranberry pickers 

 have gathered by the 

 hundreds on the Cape, 

 the work of harvesting 

 has begun in the Ware- 

 ham, Wauhinquah, and 

 Tremontbogs. Thesea- 



Graftiiig Pecans on 

 Hickory. 



son will last about two months. The crop this 

 year is unusually large.and in excellent condition. 

 It is a little late in ripening, because of lack of 

 intense heat during the summer, and frequent 

 rains. The frost has wrought no damage as yet, 

 and such injury is expected to be avoided by the 

 general adoption of the signal service system. 

 Worms have damaged many berries in certain 

 sections, but not extensively. Last yeai- the crop 

 in Plymouth and Barnstable counties was 8.3,500 

 bushels. The reports given from Wareham, Barn- 

 stable, Falmouth and other Cape Cod towns in- 

 dicate a much laiger crop than ever before raised. 

 — Mass. Ploughman. 



Grafting Pecans on Hickory. Graft in Febru- 

 ary' at the collar, and bank up with soil to retain 

 UKUsture, using no wax. On small stocks, one- 

 half inch and less, I usually make a side graft, as 

 in Fig. 1, and tie tightly with a string. For stocks 

 one half inch to one and one half inches in diam- 

 eter, use the old-fashioned cleft-graft. If stocks 

 are very large, one and one half inches and up- 

 ward, I saw the stump off squarely, and saw 

 downward perpendicularly, about one and one 

 half inches, trimming out the saw kerf smoothly 

 and somewhat flaring; then cut a good strong 

 cion to fit, and drive it in with a hammer till tight 

 enough, as in Fig. 2. On good Hickory stocks 

 the growth is ver.v rapid, and makes quite large 

 trees in three or four years.— Florida Farmer and 

 Fruit Grower. 



The High Cranberry for Ornament, of the 

 Viburnums, none are more showy that the High- 

 bush Cranberry, as its brilliant scarlet fruit 

 lights up its heavy foliage. The neat .Arrow- 

 wood iV. dcntatunit is also at its best now, with 

 its large clusters of blue fruit and its shining 

 leaves. The Dwarf il'. casxinoidct) with pink and 

 blue berries among its deep green leaves, makes 

 a good companion for the others, and when 

 planted on rich soil is hardly surpassed by any 

 other shrub of its size. These Viburnums, 

 beautiful during spring and summer, in flower, 

 foliage and habit, are doubly useful for the new 

 charm they develope as their fruits ripen in 

 autumn.— Garden and Forest. 



Iris Root for CommercA. In three of our 

 hardy Irises— a pure pearl white, (I. Jtorcntina) 

 pale buff, (/. pallida) and deep violet and mauve, 

 (/. ticrmantia,) we have the true Iris root of 

 commerce, extensively used in the perfumer's 

 art. and which imparts the subtile Violet odor so 

 prized. The Iris grows and multiplies with won- 

 derful rapidity in all parts of California, and the 

 roots could be easily produced in any quantity 

 desired. The Iris root used in this country 

 nearly all comes from Italy, where it takes 

 nearly two years to cure the roots pure white. 

 In our dry climate it probably would not take 

 more than one season to cure perfectly.— Cali- 

 fornia Florist. 



Blight of the Easpberry. I'nless some means 

 can be devised to stanij) out the fungus Sjjhn^ra 

 Hcndersonia, small fruit growers may better 



