1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



147 



days, while others liore inferior fruit yet 

 were too old to make grafting practicable. 

 There was no other orchard near so we de- 

 pended on this one for Apples. 



After four years I commenced cutting the 

 worst 'trees out, and setting young trees 

 in their places. Some were cut down and 

 the stumps left standing until nearly 

 decayed. In either case every particle of 

 old root, whether green or rotten, was 

 removed for at least four feet scjnare, and 

 two feet deep. Most of the soil in this space 

 was thrown out, and fresh good soil tilted in 

 before the new trees were planted. The 

 result is that I have now trees from fifteen 

 years old down to but three, all flourishing, 

 some being ten inches in diameter at the 

 base and we have not been without plenty of 

 Apples, although the orchard is in the 

 original ground. 



Durable Stakes. Whenever Red Cedar 

 can be got for posts or stakes they should be 

 secured. Twenty-one years ago I helped to 

 survey in this vicinity and to lay out the 

 town. The town lots were marked with 

 Cedar stakes 2!o' inches square, driven 18 

 inches into the ground, with the number in 

 Roman characters cut Into the stakes, 

 which are yet in place and not decayed. 

 These stakes were taken from trees that 

 were dry and well seasoned. 



In a place that I once rented there were 

 stakes not over two inches thick put to 

 Grape vines that had been put there four 

 years before, and the place was in my care 

 for three years, yet not a sign of decay was 

 perceptible on these stakes. They were 

 Osage Orange, and simply poles cut from an 

 abandoned hedge. That it will pay for any 

 one to plant the following where timber is 

 scarce I am sure: Osage Orange, Catalpa, 

 and Alianthus. Cedar grows too slow and 

 is more uncertain in growing after trans- 

 planting. In growing trees for timber they 

 should be planted pretty thick at first, 

 and thinned out as they become crowded. 



FouEST Tree Growing. The three above 

 named I would plant four feet apart each 

 way; cultivate well until they are about 

 two years grown (of course I mean to plant 

 small trees in the first place). The third 

 spring cut them off at the ground and let 

 two or three shoots startup, of which when 

 well started, say one foot high, pinch the 

 tops off all but the best, and when they 

 start pinch the tops again. This will give 

 the best shoot the lead, which will be likely 

 to make a shoot six to ten feet high, and 

 perfectly straight. The following spring 

 the main tree is all that should be left. In a 

 few years these trees will make good stakes 

 for the vineyard, and in five years they will 

 be heavy enough to attach barbed wire to 

 for a fence. It will now do to cut out every 

 alternate tree diagonally which will leave 

 them 8 feet apart. In ten years these will 

 be large enough for forests when the thin- 

 ning can be repeated in like manner leaving 

 them IB feet apart, which in twenty years 

 from planting will yield railroad tie timber, 

 while the refuse will make posts and fire 

 wood. One acre thus grown in good soil 

 will produce 4C0 ties worth ^iO per 100, while 

 the timber taken from the ground pre- 

 viously will fully pay for the land and labor. 



The Osage Orange is not suitable for ties, 

 however, but will be valuable for wagon 

 making. There is a possibility of ties bring- 

 ing double the price named as the Oak tim- 

 ber is rapidly passing away, and some 

 timber will have to be grown for the pur- 

 pose. This will not apply to men of my age 

 but for the young men of the laud It may be 

 of some importance. When a mere lad I 

 helped to plant tree seeds in the black soil 

 among limestone rocks in Pennsylvania, 

 and had to weed them and tend them ; on 

 revisiting the old place thirty years after, 

 there were trees fifty feet high and over a 



foot in diameter ; that would have made 

 ten posts each, then and there worth one 

 dollar a piece. These hints may arouse 

 some of our young men, to help drive 

 away the threatening calamity of our forest 

 destruction. 



Notes on Garden Work. 



A. C. REED, CUMBERLAND CO., ME. 



In the garden one is not in any danger of 

 doing too much manuring. 



Then while there are many who do not 

 raise as great :i variety as they might, others 

 attempt too much with the chance of later 

 waking up to the fact that nothing has been 

 done well. The garden plot is the most im- 

 portant piece of ground on the farm. While 

 we want a good assortment of kinds, we 

 must not have many of any one thing. 



Cabbage is perhaps one of the most ditli- 

 cult of vegetables to raise in the average 

 kitchen garden, though some, owing to 

 favored locality, or good understanding of 

 culture have no trouble with it. In many 

 localities the man who can grow plenty of 

 nice heads can sell them at a good profit. 

 The crop should be grown quickly, which 

 means a rich soil, an early start and fre- 

 quent hoeings. The common danger from 

 insects may be somewhat lessened by short- 

 ening the time of heading. I have also used 

 sulphur by thoroughly sprinkling the leaves 

 with it from time to time, for eradicating 

 both lice and worms, with good results. 

 [Bubach is the complete remedy against 

 Cabbage worms.— Ed.] 



The vines demand a considerable area, 

 and that of the warmest loam, well ma- 

 nured. 



It is often an advantage to change the 

 location of our gardens. Some gardens are 

 too wet, others too much exposed, but the 

 best garden is the one having the sunniest 

 exposure, providing we have a light loam as 

 a whole, though a little variety in soils is 

 sometimes xiseful. 



In shirking the details of our work, we 

 shirk the profits almost invariably. In no 

 business is this truer than gardening. Look 

 closely after the small things and the big 

 ones will nearly take care of themselves. 



Black Rot of Grapes. 



Continued from page 125. 



There are generally two periods in the in- 

 vasion; the first is usually mild, and co- 

 incides with the flowering of iEstivalis, the 

 time when the berries of Labrusia and its 

 hybrids are forming. Later in July and 

 especially near the beginning of August 

 Black Rot develops on the berries very rap- 

 idly and may destroy the entire crop in a 

 few days. When ripening begins the dis- 

 ease progresses slowly and the berries that 

 are still healthy are not attacked, but in 

 warm and moist regions those containing 

 the parasite continue to decay up to com- 

 plete maturity, at the same time presenting 

 some special characters. 



Diverse systems of culture and pruning 

 adopted with the view of overcoming the 

 disease have been without effect. The pow- 

 ders, sulphur, plaster, ashes,'lime and ashes, 

 etc., solutions of lime, phenic acid in small 

 quantities, salts of soda, have all been em- 

 ployed without success. It is triie the vines 

 were treated when the disease was already 

 on the leaves and even on the fruit. — a fact 

 which may account for some'ot the failures. 



It has l)een observed that Black Rot does 

 not exist or is not as severe upon vines 

 trained against walls that are surmounted 

 by roofs or partial shelter. It is the same 

 by training the vines against a trellis topped 

 with a board or cloth shelter. In the green- 

 houses near Boston and in Washington the 

 vines, even the European varieties, are ex- 

 empt from Black Rot, although the neigh- 



boring vineyards in the open air were 

 devastated l)y the disease. Drops of water 

 are indispensable for the germination of 

 Mildew spores; it is also necessary for the 

 germs of Black Rot, and especially for 

 their dissemination. 



It has been several times reported to us 

 that in the vicinity of large manufacturing 

 cities, where great quantities of soft or 

 bituminous coal are consumed, the thick 

 smoke throws down large quantities of soot 

 or coal dust. Thus at St. I>ouis, Mo., the 

 smoke is regularly driven towards the 

 north by the winds from the Mississippi. 

 Black Rot is rare and its attacks light in the 

 vineyards situated in the suburbs of the 

 city in this direction, while in the vineyards 

 to the south of the city the loss sometimes 

 reaches 90 per cent. 



Many practice removing all the berries 

 which show any signs of Black Rot, and in 

 this way they partially overcome the dis- 

 ease. The Grape clusters are by many 

 inclosed in common paper bags to preserve 

 them from Black Rot. The work may be 

 done by children, who, when the cluster is 

 placed in the bag, draw up the mouth of the 

 latter and fasten it around the stem with a 

 pin. The Grapes are inclosed when they 

 are no larger than small Peas. The clusters 

 that are thus protected are perfectly free 

 from Black Rot, although the leaves on the 

 same vine may be perforated by spots and 

 the clusters not covered entirely destroyed 

 by the disease. This method is plainly 

 impracticable for large wine vineyards but 

 may serve to a considerable extent in vine- 

 yards where Grapes are produced for table. 



Diu-ing the past season (1888) the value 

 of the salts of copper in treating Black Rot 

 has been fully demonstrated. Of the several 

 preparations employed the Bordeaux mix- 

 ture* has given by far the best results. All 

 have been about equally efficacious in pro- 

 tecting the vines from Mildew(Pcro?io.<fpo?Y() 

 and it is difficult at this time to account for 

 the diversity of action. The results obtained 

 where the Bordeaux mixture has been 

 properly applied, both in this country and in 

 France, are so clear that we have no hesita- 

 tion in saying that the Black Rot is con- 

 quered. It may now be combated success- 

 fully and by a method that is economical and 

 perfectly practical in the largest vineyards. 



Applications were made by our special 

 agent, Alex.W. Pearson, at Vineland,N. J., 

 during the past season with the Eureka 

 sprayer, May 39, June 5 and 31, July 3 and 

 11. The variety selected for treatment was 

 the Concord. On the untreated vines Rot 

 appeared on the leaves June 8, on the fruit 

 June 37, and by July 15 more than three 

 fourths of the berries had been destroyed by 

 the disease. There were no signs of Black 

 Rot on the vines treated with the Bordeaux 

 mixture — fi pounds sulphate of copper, 4 

 pounds lime, 33 gallons of water — previous 

 to .July 30. Soon after this date these vines 

 showed slight signs of the disease, particu- 

 larly on bunches that were hidden 

 under masses of foliage, where the spray 

 from the pump could not easily reach them; 

 the most exposed bunches— those most 

 easily sprayed— remained wholly free 



^Copper mixture of Gironde. Bordeaux mixture— 

 Original formula.— Dissolve 16 pounds of sulphate of 

 copper in t2 gallou.s of water; In another vessel slake 

 30 pounds of lime In fi gallons of water. When the 

 latter mixture has cooled it is slowly poured into the 

 copper solution, care being taken to mix the fluids 

 thorouglily by constant stirring. It is well to have 

 this compound prepared some days before it is required 

 for use. It should be well stirred before applying. 



A solution containing the ingredients in the follow- 

 ing proportions has been recommended for general use. 



Sulphate of copper pounds.. 6 



Ltme " 6 



Water gallons 22 



The copper is dissolved In 16 gallons of wat*r, while 

 the lime Is slaked in 6 gallons. When cool the solutions 

 are mixed as described above. 



