154 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



April, 



T'-^'^SOCIETrES 



EmsMATIER'niAT DBSERVE* 

 TO BirWIDBXY KHOWIC 



The Central Illinois So- 

 ciety will hold its annual 

 nif_'etinpr,beginnin|^ the first 

 Tuesday in May, at Normal. 

 The Cohanzick Straw- 

 berry. With me it was a 

 shy bearer, fruit liard and 

 acid, and diffieult to liull; 

 it seemed a failure.— Dr. J. B. Waitl, Neir Jciacy. 

 Moore's Diamond Grape was commended by 

 the Western New York Horticultural Society for 

 vigor of vine, productiveness, good quality and 

 earliness. 



A Sonble White Pansy was shown before the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society and 

 awarded a first-class certificate of merit. Flow- 

 ere with foliage were tastefully arranged in a 

 basket and attracted a great deal of attention. 

 The blossoms are a beautiful, clear white, of 

 medium size and good substance, freely pro- 

 duced with long stems. 



Various Ways of Trainii^g Grape-vines. Fig. 

 1 is a vine trained with a view to laying it down, 

 being applicable to such varieties as will not 

 stand exposure during severe winters. Another 

 trellis, No. 2, well thought of, is to run three 

 wires at the top, nine inches apart, the center 

 one for the arms of the vine and the side ones 

 for the branches, which are trained over them. 

 ~E. WilUwns. 



Flowers and Charity in Detroit. Early in 

 April (2, 3, i and .5) there will be given a grand 

 floral exhibit in Detroit, Michigan, for the bene- 

 fit of the combined charities of the city. More 

 than SiWO in cash premiums are offered, the 

 longest list being for pot plants. Competition is 

 open to all. The secretary is W. H. Brearly, 

 Detroit, Mich., of whom a schedule of pi'e- 

 raiums may be obtained. 



Buffalo Florists' Clnb. If the coming meeting 

 of the society of American Florists to be held in 

 Buffalo is not a success it will not bo owing to 

 lack of energy on part of the local club. This 

 society now numbers ,50 members, and aU due 

 activity prevails on the part of the special com- 

 mittees of the societj' who have in charge the 

 arrangement for the August meeting. Meet- 

 ings are held fortnightly at which able papers 

 are read and discussed by members. The attend- 

 ance is always creditable and the general interest 

 excellent. At the meeting of March 8th the fol- 

 lowing officers were elected for the ensuing 

 year; W. J. Palmer, President; William Scott, 

 Vice President; D. B. Long, Secretary; T. Clay- 

 ton, Treasurer; W. A. Andrews, Recording Sec- 

 retary; E. J. Mempsted, J. Miller and Fred 

 Katall, Executive Committee. 



The Importance of Concentration. Concen- 

 trate your power and get all out of the land 

 there is in it. In growing garden crops the fer- 

 tility of the soil is an absolute neccssit.v, and 

 where lacking must be supplied, and the more 

 perfectly it is supiilied, the better will be the 

 result. It I had four acres of land and only 

 manure sufficient for one, I would i)Ut it all on 

 to one, even though I had to seed the other three 

 to Clover, and then by close planting and a suc- 

 cession grow my four acres of crojis on tlie one 

 acre. And one other thing that must not be lost 

 sight of, if we want to get profit out of the mar- 

 ket garden, and that is the quality of our pro- 

 duct, while we are trying to get all that we can 

 make the land produce, and while we are trying 

 to get it early, just a little ahead of our neigh- 

 bors, let us try to get it a little better than they. 

 The best will always sell, and in putting your 

 product upon the market see that it is just what 

 it purports to be; if it is a prime article see that 

 it is prime all the way through. Honest, upright, 

 square dealing on the market will pay.— T/iomas 

 Crafts, hrfiirc Iht' Ailria}! Farmerft Institute. 



Gooseberries and Currants. The Industry 

 Gooseberry is generally considered an ac<iuisi- 

 tion of value. E. H. Cushman said that we have 

 not yet discovered the possibilities of the Goose- 

 berry in America; we should work towards a 

 larger and better class of Gooseberries. He was 

 disappointed in the Fay Currant, having seen 

 considerable of it in Cleveland markets, and it 

 was difficult to tell it from the common Currants. 

 Mr. Geo. Davies handled a lot of Curi-ants that 

 exceeded in size anything he had ever seen, 

 which were grown near Cleveland, shipped to 

 Indianapolis and sold for eight cent« per pound. 

 L. B. Pierce tried the Victoria once, but it was 



shy bearer. He thought the Crandall a vigorous 

 grower and a great bearer. Mr. Wilson said he 

 had seen the wild flowering Currant growing in 

 thickets in Canada where the people gathered 

 and used the fruit. Mr. Farnsworth said the 

 Currant requires a very rich soil. The White 

 Dutch is the best family Currant, but does not 

 bring more than half the price of the Red in mar- 

 ket. The Red Dutch is as good as any for family 

 purposes. Mr. Munger mixes hellebore with 

 eight parts of fine middlings and applies to the 

 Currant bushes when wet with dew, to kill 

 worms. The middlings cause it to adhere even 

 during a smart shower.— Discussion before the 

 iTCf «( (Diio Meetiuy. 



Potato Growing Points. Last year, April 28th, T 

 planted ten varietiesof early table Potatoes and 

 had them of sufficient size to eat July 4th, al- 

 though they were not fuUy matured. My latest 

 planting was July 22d of some of the earliest 

 varieties, and they were ripe by the 15th of Octo- 

 ber. If I had cold storage so that the sprouts 

 would not start, I would not plant until late in 

 June, for they would then grow with the great- 

 est vigor, mature quicker, and be in the ground 

 less time, thus making them much better. I 

 planted them on fall-plowed sod, in drills three 

 feet apart, placing the pieces from a foot to 

 eighteen inches apart. After they are up I culti- 

 vate, taking care, however, not to tear up the 

 sod. For seed I take good sized tubers and cut 

 them to one or two eyes in a piece, putting one 

 piece in a hill. Never having any success with 

 commercial fertilizer I gave them up, and now 

 cover my ground with stable manure before 

 plowing it in the fall, and at planting time I use 

 a mixture of hard wood-ashes, air-slacked lime 

 and plaster, obtaining the best results by putting 

 it in the hill with th; seed. For killing the bugs 

 I mix Paris green with hard-wood ashes and 

 plaster, and apply it while the dew is on the 

 •s'ines. My largest yield last year was 425 bushels 

 per acre, while 50 varieties went over .300 bushels 

 per acre each. I keep them in small compart- 

 ments, putting air-slacked lime in the bottom to 

 prevent rot,— G. F. Vanderhoff, at a New York 

 -Farmers' Institute. 



Strawberries in Minnesota, The success of 

 growing Strawlierries depends upon the location 

 and soil, and our sandy loam is adapted to all of 

 the varieties that can be grown so far north. We 

 top dress the grass land, then the next spring do 



Ways of Training Grape Vines. 

 not spare the manure as the richer the soil is the 

 more abundant the crop. Plow deep as soon as 

 the grass is cut. In the spring plow again, har- 

 row well and mark off in rows three and one-half 

 feet apart, and set the plants from 14 to 20 inches 

 in the row, according to variety— 14 inches for 

 Wilson, IS to 20 for Crescent. The latter being 

 pistillate should be alternated with some perfect- 

 flowering variety; Wilson, Crescent, Charles 

 Downing, Glendale and Manchester are all good. 

 Plant carefully, then thoroughly water. Before 

 any weeds are seen the cultivator should be 

 worked as near rows as possible, without throw- 

 ing any earth toward the plants. Use the culti- 

 vator every ten days or so through the season, 

 also hoeing the plants. Do not expect fruit the 

 first summer, therefore take off all fruit buds as 

 soon as they appear, and in the fall a good dress- 

 ing of ashes is beneficial. I have used :?0O bushels 

 to the acre with good results. As soon as the 

 ground is frozen cover the field with straw, corn- 

 stalks or leaves. The next spring but little is 

 done except to rake the mulch between the rows, 

 but after the fruit is gathered, if there are any 

 weeds, mow them, and burn the field over; or- 

 dinarily there are no bad results, and but little 

 labor is needed to secure another crop.— irm. 

 Daiiforth, before the Minnesnta State Societjj. 



A National Chrysanthemum Society Wanted. 

 The i)osition the Chrysanthemum occupies in 

 America is such as no other flower (not even the 

 Rose) ever had in the short space ot ten years. 

 How the position was obtained is told in a few 



words. The Chrysanthemum is a flower with so 

 great diversity in color, shape and size and it 

 comes at a season when all flowers are more 

 appreciated than at any other season of the year; 

 it requires no expensive apparatus to bring it to 

 perfection. I said when there was not one hun- 

 dreth part as many grown as there are today: 

 "The Chrysanthemum does not rely upon the 

 vagaries of fashion for its popularity. It is a 

 flower that appeals to the heart rather than to 

 the pocket and is grateful for all kindness 

 bestowed upon it, returning for such five hun- 

 dred fold." That the time has come for a national 

 Chrysanthemum society there is no doubt and 

 for the best interests of the flower and the pub- 

 lic it must be brought about. It will be a great 

 task and will lay heavily on the shoulders of a 

 few, but it will be accomplished and now Is the 

 time to strike. Such a society would have the 

 supervision and discrimination as to seedlings 

 before they are distributed; this is first because 

 there are so many foisted upon the market now 

 that are worthless, and from its great import- 

 ance; the consideration and selection to be given 

 to collections for all purposes; the best specimens 

 for all kinds and for all purposes; the super- 

 vision as tar as possible over those distributing 

 Chrysanthemums so as to insure their being true 

 to name; the formation and establishing of 

 societies in all cities, towns and ullages where 

 one does not already exist.— John Thorpe. 



On the Growing of Squashes. 



[A. II. Bulsfurd, before the Portage Co. (O.) Horticul- 

 tural Society. \ 



The Squash is indigenous to the tropical 

 climates, and to the warmer portions of the 

 temperate zones, so that in our latitude they 

 require very hot seasons to grow them suc- 

 cessfully. While taste for Squash, like for 

 Tomato and Banana, seems to be a matter 

 of education,yet dealers who are in position 

 to know, say that the Squash ranks next to 

 the Potato in popularity, more especially 

 in the larger cities. 



The ordinary method of digging holes in odd 

 corners and out of the way places and then filling 

 the holes with manure in which to plant Squashes 

 is time poorly spent, for the result is seldom sat- 

 isfactory; after the vine has made a growth of a 

 few feet, and has set a few Squashes, it is checked 

 in its growth, turns yeUow and dies, the roots 

 haWng in vain endeavored to penetrate the 

 gi'ound surrounding the hole in which they are 

 growing. As to how far the roots of a Squash 

 ^ane will extend, it is my belief that the roots of 

 the Squash vine will extend as far under ground 

 as the vine extends on the ground above. 



The great error in cultivating the Squash is to 

 starve it; another is to give all the food nec- 

 essary without allowing room for extra growth 

 of the vine under high cultivation. The best 

 results may be obtained by scattering the manure 

 after plowing the ground. It should then be 

 thoroughly incorporated with the soil. Com- 

 mercial manures are preferable to stable manure 

 for manuring in the hill from the fact that they 

 contain no seed, and will give the young plant a 

 quick stjirt, while the manure which has been 

 worked into the soil about the plant will be held 

 in reserve and be efficient in maturing the crop. 



Thorough mixing of fertilizers with the soil is 

 important; a top dressing of well rotted manure 

 or super-phosphate of lime is relished by the 

 vine after the runners begin to show. Hills 

 should be from eight to twelve feet apart ac- 

 cording to the variety planted. Squash ^ines are 

 susceptible to the slightest injury or disturbance, 

 and as a rule it is better to allow weeds which 

 spring up near the end of the season to remain 

 than to disturb the vines in attempting to pull 

 them up and cut them off. No person should be 

 allowed to pass through or even set foot in the 

 Squash patch, after the Squashes have com- 

 menced setting. 



Squashes mix in their seeds, but the effect does 

 not become apparent until the seeds are planted 

 and Squashes are produced the following season; 

 thus it will be seen that seed taken from Squashes, 

 which may yield a crop where every specimen 

 grown may show marks of impurity. It is im- 

 portant that the laws of admixture may be un- 

 derstood, that the risk incidental to plant- 

 ing seeds that look pure should be more 

 generally known. No matter how many varie- 

 ties may be planted together, no crossing from 

 the result of that planting will be seen in the ex- 

 ternal color, shape or appearance the same season . 



