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POPULAR GARDENING. 



December, 



Pansies in Winter. 



Were they sleeping sweet In their wintry bed, 

 That shelters the living as well as the dead? 



Would they wither if I should with tender touch 

 Raise the delicate robes lest they sleep too much? 



Then softly I lifted the snowy screen, 

 And bright as the stars at evening seen, 



The Pansies rose from their setting of green. 



—M. A. m. 



The Murmuring Pine. 



Thou wilt not tell me, O murmuring Pine tree! 



What thou art whispering, day by day; 

 I cannot guess thy song's vague burden. 



And cares are calling me, far away. 

 And so I must go from thy half -guessed secret; 



Thy mystic spell must not hold me long; 

 Mine is the strife of the far-off city. 



Thine, to murmur thy woodland song. 



—J. S. Cutler, in Youth's Companion. 



"Farewell, Sweet Summer!" Thus In minor key 

 The poets, with bent brows, are sadly sighing; 



But nothing of the kind she'U get from me; 

 I was extremely glad to see her flying. 



For though she gave to us the "fragrant rose," 

 To it a host of horrid bugs were clinging; 



And her "dear birds" my berries boldly stole. 

 Thus making me pay dear for their "glad singing." 

 —Margaret Eytinge. 



Begin to plan next years garden. 



Where do all the flower pots go to? 



Spinach is not found in a wild state. 



Small gardens call for the most skill. 



Suggest this journal to your friends. 



Let there be light for the window garden. 



The knife to old exhausted wood on Roses. 



Cions ought to be cut before hard freezing. 



Prize varieties are usually petted varieties. 



Asparagus roots are known to grow 30 feet long. 



For Pansies light protection is better than that 

 which is heavier. 



Horticulturists ! Serve the cause by getting 

 others to subscribe. 



What plant can equal the Poinsettia in its in- 

 tense scarlet floral dress. 



When you call on a neighbor try to win him to 

 the PdPUL.vH Gardening family. 



With Primroses err, if at all, on the side of giv- 

 ing too little rather than too much water.— J.f'.C. 



What Makes Good Gardeners. A bad climate 

 and a tolerably sterile soil, says the old Scotch 

 gardener. 



At the Chrysanthemum shows how few esti- 

 mate the iinjtoi-tant pai-t that liquid manure has 

 • played in lu-oducing the finest results. 



Double Glazing- High hopes were once enter- 

 tained that this plan would come into general 

 use. It has been tried and found wanting. 



" Christmas Boses " may have beenall right as 

 a term for Hellebore flowers years ago, but to- 

 day the real Christmas Roses are the sweet Tea- 

 scented Rose buds. 



A machine may show its value in a single year, 

 but it is only by long continued experience that 

 we can decide as to what varieties of fruit are 

 the best.— E. TF. TToods. 



Indian Corn or Maize is actually grown sis a 

 window plant in London. It is not a bad one by 

 any means, wherever, as in England, Com does 

 not succeed in field culture. 



Shall our subscription list be doubled before 

 January 1st ? We understood our last month's 

 premium list to say " yes." Still it is the present 

 subscribers who largel.v have it to say. 



Tuberose growers may be interested to know 

 that when the flower stalk is full grown and the 

 buds begin to open, if a paper bag is hung over 

 it, rust is prevented and the flowers will be per- 

 fect.— T. Herriclt, Ashtabula Co.. O. 



Vegetables in the North. Last spring was an 

 unusually late one; vegetables were not sown 

 until about May 1.5th, but by the middle of July 

 we were starting second-crop Radishes, Lettuce, 



Spinach, Peas, etc. Potatoes do especially well 

 here, haWng new ones the last of July, and if the 

 season is at all favorable get from a50 to 450 

 bushels per acre.— C. Rcdpath, Pembina> Co., Dak. 

 Apples or Pears for Profit- Our neighbor, H. C. 

 Howai'd, informs us that from his Apple orchard 

 of 25 acres, his crop netted him after expenses, 

 $1,300, the fruit having gone to a preserving fac- 

 tory. From the pi'oduce of a two acre Pear 

 orchard, to which was added about 25 barrels of 

 Pears from a younger orchard, the same gentle- 

 man realized nearly as much as from the entire 

 Apple orchard and with tar less labor. 



It is a common thing to make a Holiday present 

 of a year's subscription to this journal. What 

 could be more acceptable to a friend of horticul- 

 tural taste, than the monthly visits of such a 

 journal and serving to remind the recipient of 

 your friendship. But one request we have to 

 make in all such cases, and that is that our sub- 

 scription department be notified when a subscrip- 

 tion is sent as a present, as we are desirous of 

 keeping all such separately. 



Stakes for Plants, I had gotten tired of split 

 wooden stakes for my pot plants. I was in an 

 old umbrella and parasol maker's shop the other 

 day and seeing a quantity of old ribs of umbrel- 

 las tied up together, I asked the man what he 

 wanted for the lot; he ofl'ered them for nothing, 

 I gave him ten cents, and since then I have not 

 been short of good stakes. Wire would not do so 

 well because it bends and these old ribs do not.— 

 Mrs. M. I hire. Worcester Co., Mass. 



The Victoria Begia's near relative, the Eury- 

 ale terox, from China, is reported to have been 

 flowered during the past season by Mr. L. W. 

 Goodell, of Massachusetts. Like the former, it 

 is an annual, and much resembles It, except in 

 the flowei's, which are only the size of our com- 

 mon white Water Lily, but of a violet color. 

 There is a chance of its becoming naturalized in 

 Southern watei's, otherwise it has no special 

 value to justify the trouble and expense of 

 growing it under shelter in the north. 



The slowness of the gardeners of England to 

 take up advanced ideas which do not originate 

 in their own brains, is well shown by their now 

 waking up to the improvement of propagating 

 Carnations from cuttings, instead of by the 

 old way of layering. They are now beginning 

 to talk of the former course as a new thing, 

 while in America it has been the practice for a 

 score of years. Imagine a large Hudson Kiver 

 florist propagating the 10,000 Carnation plants he 

 annually needs by the laborious layering system. 

 Black Insects on Chrysanthemums. A Bemedy. 

 My Chi'ysantheraums look nicely, and are free 

 from the disgusting black insects that have 

 troubled me greatly in past years, I have tried 

 Tobacco and hellebore, but I couldn't keep the 

 pest away for more than a day or two. An old 

 Scotch gardener told me to take up a handful of 

 dry fine soil and gently rub on the stems. It 

 seemed so simple, and the remedy was so close at 

 hand, that I tried it rather scornfully, but was 

 delighted with the result.— jl. Lyman, Wayne 

 Co., Michigan. 



Heat for House Plants. One successful ama- 

 teur over in New Hamiishire says she don't allow 

 frost bites to her plants so long as she has a two 

 gallon jug in the house and can get up hot water. 

 She first coats the jug with layer after layer of 

 paper to keep in the heat and also to modify it. 

 Then in severe nights she places this jug on her 

 center table and all around it the tender plants, 

 and over all a sheet or water-proof cloak sup- 

 ported by some sticks thrust into the pots. This 

 method carries the plants safely through any 

 kind of a cold night. 



Keeping the Savory Herbs. While in com- 

 mon with, all housewives, I take pride in the 

 rows of glass fruit jars that weigh down certain 

 shelves in the cellar, I take equal pride in the jars 

 and tin boxes filled with savory herbs of my own 

 raising that occupy a shelf in the pantry. Such 

 collections are seen less often than those consist- 

 ing of jars of fruit. I send a little sketch of my 

 shelf. The wide-mouthed bottles cost six cents 

 each at the drug store, the tin boxes eight cents 

 each at the tinners. They will last endlessly.— 

 Mrs. H. SouthwicH, Oscorfa Co., Mich. 



Prize Sorts not always the Best. Beginners in 

 Chrysanthemum or Rose culture often make the 

 sad mistake of copying the names of the fine 

 flowers that take prizes at the shows, and order 

 plants of these for their first efforts. Far better 

 let the order be sent to a reliable floinst and ask 

 for \'igorou8 growers suited to a beginner. The 

 florist will be Ukely to send kinds that are of 



vigorous habit and good bloomers. After exper- 

 ience is obtained and a stock gathered, then the 

 finer sorts will come into use, with the prospect 

 of raising specimens that should be piize earners. 



The Chnfa or Darth Almond. This is an edible 

 tuber which is almost as palat<>ble as a Hazel nut, 

 and easily grown in any dry soil. It is a native 

 of the south of Europe and the north of A f rica. 

 Its culture is most simple, all that is required is 

 to drop a tuber at a foot apart in shallow bur- 

 rows three feet apart. Its habit of growth and 

 its productiveness is indicated by the engraving 

 on the opposite page. It is indeed so productive 

 that its culture for hog feed has often been 

 advocated. The tubers should be gathered when 

 frost stops the growth, and they must be stored 

 in a place secure from frost. 



A delightful fernery may easily be gotten up 

 at home according to Judith Smythe's directions 

 in the Home Maker. First use an inch of coarse 

 charcoal, covered with fine potsherds on which 

 is placed three'inches of wood's earth; this to be 

 covered with Mosses in which is some Partridge 

 Berry iMitchelta reiiens) growing, the scarlet 

 fruit of which remains all winter. Dwarf Ever- 

 green Ferns, a root of the Pitcher Plant (Sarra- 

 cettia), together with some trailing Arbutus, 

 and some Ground Pine. Use a Begonia tor the 

 center, with Ribbon Grass (Phalaris arundinacea 

 picta), English Ivy, Wandering Jew {Ti'adescantia 

 varicgata) and Violet roots. Deep in the soil 

 place some Hyacinth and Crocus bulbs. 



Several Wrinkles from English Gardeners. 

 The first is simply an earthern pan that can be 

 had to order at any pottery, the dimensions 

 being dependent upon the size of the glass which 

 is to cover it, sliding in grooves. The back is 

 about a foot high, the front several inches lower 

 to give the glass pitch. In this miniature frame 

 can be sown fine seeds like those of Primula, 

 Calceolaria, Cineraria, etc., and cuttings can well 

 be rooted in it. There is little risk of damping- 

 ofC in such a case. Of special value in the 

 window garden because of its cleanliness and 

 wide adaptability. The second figure shows a 

 perforated metal flower pot. It is claimed that 

 the growth of plants will be strong and rapid, 

 while the pots, of any size or shape, have a neater 

 and lighter appearance and are much more dur- 

 able thait those of common earthern ware. 



Oregon Fruit Notes, Up to four years ago I 

 never saw a codling moth in Oregon. This year 

 we have an abundant supply. I sprayed my Pear 

 and Apple trees last spring with London purple 

 solution, and as a result out of 714 tons of Bart- 

 letts there were not half a dozen wormy ones. 

 My later fruits fared worse. Perhaps one sixth 

 of my winter Apples were affected and had 

 dropped from the trees. Fruits of all kinds were 

 very abundant this season, and Oregon orchard- 

 ists have dried a great many Prunes, Plums and 

 Pears. My orchard contains 17 acres mostly 

 young, but nearly every tree was over-loaded. 

 Four hundred Yellow Egg Plum trees planted 

 four years ago yielded over 3H tons of fine fruit. 

 Our principal crop is of Italian (FaUembcrg) and 

 French (Prune de Agen) Prunes. They yield 

 most excellent returns, as we have no curculio 

 yet.— D)'. (I. P. Pliimmcr, MvUnomah Co., Oregon. 

 Desirable Heat-Loving Shrubs. One of the 

 last articles from the pen of the late P. W. Reas- 

 oner, of Florida, was on the subject of those fine 



Some Wriukles/rom the Kiii/lisli; Propai/iittng Case, 



Perforated Flower Pot. 

 pot plants, the Taberna-montanas. He referred 

 to them as a genus of tropical American and West 

 Indian plants, of which there are many species, 

 most of them white or yellow-flowered; they 

 vary in size from small shrubs to good sized 

 forest trees, but the commonest ones in cultiva- 

 tion are shrubs very much resembling the Gar- 

 denia or Cape Jessamine. The commonest 

 species as weU as one of the most beautiful, is 

 the double flowered form of T. coronaria, which 

 has white flowers with somewhat wavy petals, 

 and is covered with flowers almost all summer. 

 A beautiful sort, T. alba, is cultivated by the 

 acre, by the florists of Havana for their cut 

 flower trade; the flowers of both species are very 

 fragrant, and are favorites in floral work- some 

 growers in the north devoting considerable space 

 to their production. 



