i888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



57 



had just cause of complaint if no variega- 

 tion at first occurred, but in this case the 

 variegation is a whim of the plant and can- 

 not be or has not yet been controlled by the 

 nurserymen, so this Viburnum should be 

 marked as one likely to produce some varie- 

 gated leaves. Perhaps it behaves differently 

 in California, but on Long Island, where we 

 have large old plants, the above is just how 

 it acts in this matter. 



Indian Cherry {Rhamnuis CdroUniana). 

 "Now that's one of my favorite shrubs," 

 remarked Mr. J. Meehan, "it is so pretty 

 when in fruit." True, it is a shrub or small 

 tree indigenous to Long Island, south and 

 west to Eastern Texas, but not much culti- 

 vated in gardens. But it well deserves to 

 be grown among our choice shrubs on ac- 

 count of the immense profusion of its small 

 but ornamental red and black fruit. Why, 

 in summer the bushes are covered all over 

 with small greenish flowers, and unripe and 

 ripe fruit at the same time. At the Arnold 

 Arboretum, at Boston last summer I saw 

 it in this condition and thought it was one 

 of the prettiest shrubs in that almost un- 

 equalled collection. 



WiTcn-HAZEL {Hamamclis- Virtjinica). 

 Our woods hereabout are full of it and we 

 grow it in the garden, but at Mr. Meehan's 

 and Mr. Child's I saw it in a finer condition 

 as a garden shrub than I remember having 

 seen it elsewhere. The specimens were large, 

 broad-spreading at the top, dense, and not 

 at all lank and straggling as we so often 

 find it in its wild state. This is because 

 they had been pruned back a little in their 

 earlier years. It Is an odd shrub at this time 

 of year, (October and November), to be 

 covered with its modest yellow flowers which 

 come before the leaves fall and continue for 

 sometime after the plants are leafless. 



Hardy Jasmines. The Naked-flowered 

 Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is grown 

 in limited quantity. If the people could only 

 see it when in full bloom and know what 

 a good thing it is, demand would soon in- 

 crease the supply. It is a deciduous species 

 of shrubby vine, and a native of China. Its 

 flowers are yellow and appear in great pro- 

 fusion along the leafless flexible branches 

 in earliest spring when the Snowdrops and 

 Crocuses are in bloom. The plant is fairly 

 hardy if in a sheltered place, and may be 

 trained to a pillar, trellis, or other support, or 

 allowed to spread over rockwork, or root- 

 work, or form a dense isolated bush-speci- 

 men as we often do with Fortune's Forsy thia. 

 Of thecommon White Jasmine (J. officinale) 

 Mr. Meehan had several small plants, and 

 which are quite thrifty. In the warmer 

 parts of Britain, also along all'Southern Eu- 

 rope, this is one of the commonest^of garden 

 plants, and is used as a vine, also clipped 



in a warm, sheltered spot, slightly shaded 

 from bright sunshine, on well drained land, 

 and with a wmter mulching of dry Oak 

 leaves and some evergreen Spruce brandies, 

 1 am sure we can grow this Jasmine good 

 enough to bloom it well in the neighbor- 

 hood of New York. It is to the South wliat 

 the Mayflower is to the North. 



Out Door Cellarfor Roots, etc. 



CHARLES WILLIAMS, ORANGE CO.. N. Y. 



Not having enough cellar room for my 

 root crops, two years ago I built an outside 



Fig, 2. Open Air Root Cellar. Lengthtoise Section. 



low for a garden edging as we sometimes cellar with 

 have Euoityinus radicans, and running 

 loose on rockwork. Its flowers are white 

 and appear from midsummer and later. 

 The species is indigenous to Persia and 

 Northern India. As I do not Itnow of any 

 large flowering plants of it growing out of 

 doors in the Northern States, I cannot say 

 how hardy it is. The Southern Jasmine 

 (Oclscmium .'icmperirirens) is gro\vn in con- 

 siderable quantity and it looks first rate, 

 but I am told it blooms very little. Now, 



' Fig. 1. Cross btctioi of Ruut L\Uttt\ 



cellar, which possesses some advantages. 

 It holds all the Potatoes and other roots I 

 have to store. It is convenient to the house, 

 while all stench from decaying vegetables 

 is prevented from entering the dwelling, a 

 menace to health. It is easily fllled, it is 

 perfectly durable and with being banked 

 over and the soil coated with turf, it 

 presents not a bad appearance. 



To give others an idea of the formation of 

 this cellar, I present some rude drawings 

 herewith. Figure 1 shows a cross sectional 

 view of the structure, Figure "2, a similar one 

 taken lengthwise. The letters in the two 

 illustrations refer to corresponding parts. 



The main feature of this cellar is an exca- 

 vation three feet into the ground on a dry 

 site, the same being ten feet wide and forty 

 feet in length. The sides and roof are of 

 brick (stone would answer also) arched as 

 shown by Figure 1. Over the arch is a cover 

 of 30 inches of earth, the surface of which is 

 sodded. There is a storm house entrance 

 at one end through which access is had to 

 the interior. 



In the Figures, A represents the floor, 

 being lower at the center where is a drain 

 L. The floor and drain are cemented, and 

 the latter is protected by a board walk. B 

 is the arched wall of brick. C is the first 

 room of the cellar, and which is furnished 

 with benches and shelves for storing milk, 

 fruit jars and the like. D D represent the 

 bin sections; the bins being to the out.side 

 of a central walk which extends through 

 the length of the cellar. E shows the cover 

 of earth, F the sod on top of it. G is the 

 storm house which protects the entrance. 

 H is an incline from the interior through 

 the inner door, I to the 

 outside entrance J; 

 this incline is made of 

 plank and admits of 

 readUy entering the 

 cellar with a wheel- 

 barrow. K is a boxed 

 opening, ha\'ing a 

 window and an outside 

 door, and is used as 

 a ventilator, for ad- 

 mitting light, and to 

 serve for filling the 

 roots as may be safely 

 L Is the drain before 



such 

 handled over a clmte 

 referred to, and M the outlet to the same. 



In the summer, a wire screen is placed on 

 the opening K, as well as a screen door 

 being provided at the regular entrance at 

 the other end. By having both doors and 

 the opening at K, the air in the cellar 

 changes place constantly, with good effect. 

 It is a fine milk room; nothing has ever 

 frozen in it. A cellar similar to this could 

 be made for much less first cost money than 



this, by using studding and boards instead 

 of brick or stone for the sides and top. In 

 the long run the brick structiu-e would 

 be the cheapest and by far the most 

 satisfactory. 



Keeping Garden Vegetables Fresh 

 the Year Round. 



An exchange says : "Apples, Potatoes, 

 Cabbage, and sometimes Beets, Turnips, 

 and Parsnips, may be kept till spring," 

 upon which the Country Gentleman com- 

 ments as follows : 



This length of time will doubtless apply 

 to ordinary modes of storage in cellars, but 

 with suitable packing we find no difficulty 

 in keeping garden roots quite fresh the year 

 round. There is little difficulty in retaining 

 Potatoes in nearly as good a condition as 

 those freshly dug, provided the temperature 

 is kept .so low that they will not sprout or 

 grow, the skin being nearly impervious to 

 moisture so that they %vill not wilt. 



Beets, Turnips, and especially Parsnips, 

 become withered and dry in a compara- 

 tively short time, and it is essential to imbed 

 hem in a suitable packing substance to 

 prevent the escape of moisture. Sawdust, 

 slightly damp (but not wet), answers an ex- 

 cellent purpose, provided it is placed in 

 boxes sufficiently small in size to prevent 

 heating. All the interstices between the 

 roots must be compactly filled. They 

 should then be kept in a cool cellar. Saw- 

 dust being an excellent non-conductor of 

 heat, a few degrees of frost in the cellar for 

 a few hours, during an excessively cold 

 snap, will not be likely to reach them. We 

 have kept garden Beets in this way through 

 the twelve months, and taken them out in 

 November apparently as fresh as the day 

 they were dug, although with some loss of 

 flavor. 



Parsnips, which wither rapidly when 

 exposed to the air, may be kept fresh in 

 this way during winter, but those needed 

 for spring use should be left in the ground 

 where they grew, and taken out in the 

 spring for ready use, or else packed away 

 by the mode already described, for longer 

 keeping. They may be allowed to remain 

 in the ground a few weeks longer, if the 

 roots are not allowed to become exhausted 

 by the growing leaves, which is prevented by 

 cutting off the starting foliage rapidly with 

 a light hoe ground sharp on the grindstone. 

 Cabbage, intended for early use in winter 

 or for a few months, may be kept by a mode 

 somewhat similar, u.sing slightly damp 

 moss in.stead of sawdust, or the latter will 

 answer nearly as weU. Procure good sized 

 or long boxes, cover the bottom with two or 

 three inches of the moss, place a stratum of 

 the Cabbage heads regularly and compactly 

 on this layer, then having added another 

 layer of moss, proceed as before, till the box 

 is fllled. A quite low temperature for the 

 boxes is desirable, and some frost occasion- 

 ally will do no harm. 



When moss is used for packing roots, it 

 answers a good purpose if rubbed or ground 

 rather flne'or pulverized. It may be neces- 

 sary during winter to examine the degree 

 of moisture, and if quite dry or likely to 

 become so, to apply more with a watering 

 pot, but not to drench them. It is e-ssential 

 to maintain a low temperature, to prevent 

 any danger from rotting. 



fl63. Cracking of Pears. I have experimented 

 for some time with many remedies, and have 

 found it to be a disease attacking the young 

 wood, going from one tree to another until I 

 expet it will go over my whole orchard, The 

 best I have ever done was to cut off all last 

 year's growth, fruit buds too, and unless there is 

 left some that are cracking in the near vicinity, 

 wncn they come out fresh, the fruit will prove 

 healthy. This disease treated in dciiiirtmeut 

 report 1836, is confounded with Pear blight en- 

 tirely distinct.— P. H. Foote, Suffolk Co., JV^. Y. 



