i888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



65 



impressed me beyond past displays of this kind. 

 Blooms fully eight inches across were not un- 

 common, and the range of form and coloring 

 was more bewildering, while the number of 

 specimen fiowei'S shown seemingly ran up into 

 thousands. A few vases of cut Koses called for 

 favorable comment, as did also several Thanlss- 

 giving designs in flowers and fruit contributed 

 by local Borists. 



The florists club and invited friends sat down 

 to the annual supper at 10 o'clock. A delightfully 

 social time was enjoyed by all, the toa.sts and 

 responses being numerous and felicitous. 



CONDENSED CLEANINGS. 

 A Bulb Disease: Black Canker. The bulb 

 growers of Europe recognize a certain disease of 

 bulbs under the name of "black canker" or 

 "black rot." In typical cases the buds are 

 studded with minute black projecting spots, as 

 shown in the upper part of our illustration; this 

 is the resting or hibernating state of the fungus 

 which causes the disease. Narcissus bulbs are 

 imported in apparently sound condition, but 

 really with the fine threads of a fungus mycelium 

 just beneath the outer membrane, and it is im- 

 possible to tell without a microscopic examina- 

 tion whether the bulbs are free from taint or 

 not. In the course of a few weeks (or months) 

 the spawn beneath the membrane congregates in 

 little knots (like grains of gunpowder), which 

 speedily become black outside. These grains are 

 sclerotia. If the membrane of the bulb is care- 

 fully laid open with a needle, and one of the 

 black grains enlarged ten diametei-s, it will appear 

 as shown on the left of the illustration. A frag- 

 ment of the sclerotium under the microscope, 

 enlarged 300 diametei-s, shown, as in the right- 

 hand bottom corner, one compact mass of fine 

 fungus threads. The warmth and moisture fav- 

 orable to the bulbs is exactly suited to the grains, 

 which after about nine months' rest produce a 

 small fungus named Peziza— possibly P. cibor- 

 ioides, Fr., which sometimes grow on Oak leaves 

 and Clover. This fungus produces spores which 

 germinate and produce a new crop of sclerotia, 

 by which the life of the "black canker" is car- 

 ried in a passive state from year to year. As in- 

 fected bulbs propagate the disease, no bulbs 

 showing the granules of "black canker" should 

 be sold or planted.— Gardeners* Chronicle. 



No Bnbbish Heap. Most gardeners are in favor 

 of a rubbish heap, as being of considerable value 

 from a manural point of Wew, while in the case 

 of heavy soils the free use of such refuse is of 

 the greatest possible help in bringing the soU 

 into proper working order, but some time since 

 I observed an instance of the "no rubbish heap" 



X zoo- 

 Black Canker in Bulbs. 

 principle. The accumulation of rubbish in large 

 and small gardens goes on at an alarming rate, 

 and soon becomes offensive; it was with a view 

 to avoid this, that the rubbish heap was abolished. 

 The garden where this is carried into affect is of 

 considerable size, and forms part of the grounds 

 of an Orphanage, and consequent upon the 

 number of inmates, precautionary measures are 

 freely employed against disease; with this object 

 the superintendent has studiously avoided a 

 rubbish heap, and to get rid of the refuse a 

 deep trench is formed across the garden, and the 

 refuse as fast as made, is deposited in it and 

 covered with soil. When the trench is full, it is 

 Blled in, leaving another by its side; this is served 

 likewise, and so the operation continues till the 

 whole has been traversed. By this process the 

 soil receives a good dressing, and is thoroughly 



Reduced. 



trenched, while at no time is there any great ex- 

 tent of land unoccupied. The plan answers 

 admirably, and excellent crops are the result; 

 nothing is simpler or more etfectual, for mo.st 

 gardens.— Foreign Exchange. 



The 1888 Plum Crop. This year was unusually 

 favorable for Plums. The crop is many times 

 larger than it has been for a long time, and trees 

 which never perfected any fruit before have 

 had a greater load than they could well 

 carry. Imperial Gage, Prince Engelbert, 

 Sharp's Emperor (Victoria),Bavay's Green 

 Gage, Shropshire Damson, and a number 

 of others, to say nothing of the old Dam- 

 son, have all borne remarkable crops, 

 .lust what occurs in a number of years to 

 cripple the curculio so that, although 

 present in greater or less numbers, they 

 can only do a smaU portion of their bad 

 work, it is difficult to say. Possibly there 

 was some part of the winter which was 

 unfavorable to them, or something in the 

 preceding summer, or both. But such 

 events, occurring from whatever cause, 

 give hope that sooner or later some of the 

 unseen forces of nature may make a clean 

 sweep of the "little Turk," such as hap- 

 pened in the case of the tent caterpillar 

 several years ago. Hut while the curculio 

 did little or no harm, as much cannot be 

 said for the rot which attacked a number 



of the large varieties. Several of these, ^'■^- '• Sprayed Bartlett Pea 

 however, notably Sharp's Emperor and 

 Prince Engelbert, have been almost wholly 

 exempt from this malady. Trees growing in 

 door yards, or where pigs and chickens have free 

 access, have done best in all respects, as usual.— 

 National Stockman. 



Results from Spraying Bartlett Pears. Spray- 

 ing young fruit with liquid poison, to destroy 

 noxious insects has proved particularly advan- 

 tageous to Bartlett's, which from their earliness 

 appears to be particularly liable to the attacks 

 of the codling moth and curculio. The spraying 

 is done when the young Pears are between the 

 size of Peas and Cherries. It is sometimes neces- 

 sary to repeat the operation to replace loss by 

 hea%-y rains. Paris green thoroughly mixed 

 with 700 times its bulk of water, ami lightly 

 showered over the tree destroys all the codling 

 worms just hatching in the calyx, and before the 

 Pears are half grown the rains have washed off 

 all the poison; and though Paris green is a very 

 imperfect remedy for the curculio on Plums, it 

 is more effective when they are on Pears. An 

 orchard^of Bartletts was sprayed three times, the 

 rains interrupting somewhat. The result was that 

 the heavily loaded trees had scarcely a defective 

 specimen, while on a tree 40 rods away nearly 

 every Pear was more or less disfigured by the cod- 

 ling worms and the curculio. Fig. 1 represents a 

 specimen of the fruit much reduced from the 

 sprayed trees, which is smooth and uninjured, 

 and Fig. 2 a specimen from the unsprayed tree, 

 disflgured chiefly at the sides by the curculio. 

 London purple, if pure, answers as well as Paris 

 green. — Country Gentleman. 



The Culture of Bhubarb. While the best 

 time to plant Rhubarb is in the fail it ma.v be 

 done early in spring; the old roots should be 

 divided so as to have but one or two eyes to 

 each piece, and set about three feet apart in fur- 

 rows four feet apart. Cover two inches deep. 

 Rhubarb is in no way particular about the land 

 it grows upon, provided it is not a dry gravel, 

 but demands very heavy manuring; 10 or 15 

 cords per acre every year of strong manure, rich 

 in nitrogen. Rake off the dead leaves and rub- 

 bish about Nov. 1st, plow a light furrow from the 

 plants at each side, fill this with manure, and 

 cover with plow, ridging the land well over the 

 crowns. In early spring cultivate across the 

 ridges, and stir often with plow and cultivator, 

 and hoe until it has grown too high. The best 

 variety for general marketing in Boston is the 

 Victoria, on account of its large size and very 

 heavy yield. The Linna'us variety is earlier and 

 milder acid, but it does not yield much more 

 than half. The bed should be replanted after 

 about five years' bearing, the new plantation 

 not being cropjjed the Hrst year, and will not pro- 

 ducea full crop the second, butafter that for five 

 years it is in its prime.— American Cultivator. 



Trees for Streets. All things considered, the 

 silver-leaved Linden is one of the most suitable 

 for avenue-planting, though whether it will en- 

 dure the gas and smoke of the densely crowded 

 city remains t(j be seen. Its chief merit consists 

 in absolute hardiness, entile exemption from 



destructive insects and diseases, a vigorous 

 growth, and a beautiful, compact head. The 

 bark is smooth, and the trunk straight and sym- 

 metrical. Many so-called street trees droop 

 their branches to the annoyance of travellers, 

 but in the silver-leaved Linden the tendency of 

 every limb is upright, and is clothed with charm- 

 ing foliage. While little difliculty is experienced 

 in providing suitable trees for small towns and 



Fig. 3. 



Unsprayed Bartlett 

 Pear Reduced. 



country places, the list that will accommodate it- 

 self to the closely-built city, and especially to 

 the manufacturing districts, is smaU indeed, so 

 that the Carolina Poplar has been introduced in 

 such positions. It has demonstrated its ability 

 to withstand the hardships of its surroundings, 

 and shows to advantage in a comparison with 

 well-known trees. Whether il will continue to 

 thrive remains to be seen, but for the last decade 

 it has seemed to defy both confinement at the 

 roots and vitiated air.— Tribune. 



An Apple Inspector. Mr. N. Hudgin advocates 

 the appointment of an inspector of Apples for 

 export, for the purpose of fostering the trade, 

 which is largely on the increase, and requires a 

 more careful selection and proper branding. 

 The shipper employs a number of packers who 

 endeavor to pack as large a number as possible, 

 regardless of the employers' Interest, and it is 

 hard to trace this; or the farmers compel them 

 to pack Apples that are hardly fit for evaporat- 

 ing, thus injuring the foreign market, and sub- 

 jecting the shipper to a heavy freight bill on 

 goods not worth the transportation. The farmer 

 should pack his own Apples and save 15 cents 

 per barrel, and the trouble of a lot of men, if 

 desirous to do so, and likewise take the conse- 

 quences. Then the packer would have to look 

 after his own interest, as every tenth barrel 

 could be gone through, or more or less as neces- 

 sary, and this would have a tendency to check 

 abuse.— Canadian Horticulturist. 



The Peach Borer Cure. The eggs are laid on 

 the tree, close to the ground, where the tender- 

 ness of the bark makes it easy tor the young 

 grub to get through to the soft new wood, on 

 which it feeds. Gum mixed with the sawdust- 

 like castings of the worms, indicates the presence 

 of the pest. Cutting into the tree with a knife, 

 will soon find a soft, dull-whitish worm with a 

 brown head, and the knife puts him beyond do- 

 ing any more harm. Sometimes the track ex- 

 tends down under the bark, but one need not 

 fear to follow, as the cutting heals over with no 

 harm to the tree. When left to itself the grub 

 comes out and makes a cocoon of the gum and 

 castings. The perfect insect, which lays the eggs, 

 is a slender, dark blue, four winged moth, not 

 unlike a wasp. Nothing can be done to prevent 

 the depositing of the eggs; but cutting out the 

 grub is a perfect protection if done in time. 

 Twice a year, fall and spring, the trees should be 

 looked over.— National Stockman. 



Home Horticulture for Children, Farmers, 

 grounds should lie neat and attractive. The wise 

 man will begin earlj', with his children, to gather 

 these attractions. If he takes an interest in grass 

 and flowers, he may convey this mental inheri- 

 tance to his children by pointing out their 

 beauties and wonders. A neatly kept home and 

 surroundings, facilities for the study of the 

 natural sciences, home collections of minerals 

 and insects, teaching the art of budding, pruning 

 and grafting, making dried collections of weeds, 

 and of grains and grasses, will in the course of 

 years ma ke the country permanently attractive. 



