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POPULAR GARDENING. 



May, 



About the Japan Maples. The Many-Formed 

 Maple (Acer poJiimori>)nim), and its colored- 

 leaved varieties, bear our winters without injury, 

 and more are planted from year to year. The 

 specific name indicates its striking peculiarity, 

 that of producing its leaves in a variety of forms. 

 The plant is a shrub rather than a tree, and its 

 growth is very slow, and probably it will not, at 

 the very best, exceed 10 feet in height. For trees 

 of eight and 10 years planting are now only some 

 six feet high. The leaves are small five-lobed, 

 dark green, changing in autumn to a dark crim- 

 son. Varieties of most other species besides the 

 above have not proved suflSciently hardy. The 

 variety dissectum atropurpureum is of a dwarf 

 and weeping form. The leaves ai^ of a beautiful 

 rose-color when young, and change to a deep 

 purple as they become older. They are deeply 

 and finely cut, giving them an elegant fem-Uke 

 appearance, and unlike that of any other tree. 

 The young shoots are slender and drooping, and 

 colored like the leaves. These plants can be set 

 on the lawn singly or in gi'oups, and by prefer- 

 ence, should be placed, if possible, where they 

 will have a background of green and taller trees. 

 They are frequently kept in pots and form beau- 

 tiful greenhouse decorations.— Vick's Magazine. 



An Ohio Grape Hoe, Mr. B. H. Cushman de- 

 scribed a Grape house in use in Euclid. It con- 

 sists of a light tapering pole with an iron extend- 

 ing in front of the horse's breast in a cur^'e, with 

 a slot in the end which was strapped to the col- 

 lar. Back of the hoi"se a piece is framed at right 

 angles to which the whifBe tree is attached, and 

 also the lower ends of the handles, the middle 

 being supported by a post farther back. The 

 pole is on the right side of the horse and on the 

 under side of the pole near the back end is 

 framed a standard sticking out in a slanting di- 

 rection to the right at an angle of about 40°. The 

 lower end of this standard carries a steel hoe four 

 inches deep and ten Inches wide, and this hoe 

 cleans the ground almost up to the Grape vine 

 stems. Its cost is about S.5, and it is as well 

 adapted to Raspberiies as to Grape ^nnes. It is 

 shown in the cut.— rihio Farmer. 



Care and Food Makes the Orchard Fay. I have 

 never yet seen an orchard too rich for profit, or 

 one upon which the last load of manure did not 

 pay the most profit . An orchard of the Williams' 

 Favorite Apple in the vicinity of Boston is kept 

 "as rich as a barnyard." The fruit is double 

 what might be called the normal size of the var- 

 iety; every Apple is handled like an egg, and is 

 got in the market at just its point of perfection. 

 This orchard, though small, is very profitable. 

 The only orchard to rival this, that 1 have seen., 

 is in the CSty of Montreal, where some seven 

 years ago the fruit of thirty-six trees of Fameuse 

 was sold, ungathered, that season for $800. They 

 were very large and perfectly healthy trees 

 which had, all themselves, almost an acre of 

 rich land.— T. H. Hoskins in Vick's Magazine. 



Trimming Evergreens. Evergreens do not 

 n^ed much trimming. As a rule they should not 



An Ohin Grape Hoe. 



be pruned when young unless it is for the pur- 

 pose of giving them some particular, shape. 

 When several leaders are produced, take out all 

 but one; or if any side branches grow beyond or 

 out of proportion to others, cut them back. This 

 pruning may be delayed until the tree has be- 

 come well established and five to ten feet in 

 height. For timber, long erect stems will be re- 

 quired; for screens, preserve as many lower 

 branches as possible to give density. When trees 

 are grown singly for ornament, they will usually 

 take a natural form, which is always more beau- 

 tiful than any distortion given by the pruner. 

 Study the habits of the tree.— Western Rural. 



The Grape Crop of Portland, N. Y. The total 

 of baskets shipped from this town was l,476,3a3 

 at the average selling price of 16 cents per basket, 

 which amounted to $336,0.53.38. The bearing 

 acreage of the vineyards already planted is about 

 one-fourth, so that in one and two and three 

 years the output of Grapes from this town and 

 Grape county wUl be doubled, tripled and 

 quadrupled. The Concord remains the favorite 



Grape in the market. &Vi car loads of Grapes 

 were shipped over the Nickel Plate between 

 Dunkirk and Cleveland during the Grape season; 

 over 400 car loads being from Euclid, O.— Chau- 

 tauqua Farm and Vineyard. 



Where Lime is Beneficial, If you have such a 

 soil as ours in which there is plenty of potash to 

 let loose, you cannot put on too much lime. If 

 your soil is full of vegetable matter and vege- 

 table acid, or is of a red, sandy, ferrous-sulphate 

 character, use lime, but in more moderate 

 amount. If your land abounds in decomposing 

 feldspathic rock, use lime heavily to aid the de- 

 composition. But if you have a poor, old, sandy 

 piece of land, destitute of either vegetable mat- 

 ter or potash, don't buy lime, but buy car tickets 

 and get to a better place as soon as possible.— 

 W. F. Massey in American Farmer. 



Happy Grape Growers. The Grape growers of 

 Piedmont are in a jubilant mood. The experi- 

 ence of the past season has satisfied them that at 

 last they have a preventative of the black rot in 

 Grapes. Neglected \ineyards, which the owners 

 had almost abandoned in despair,are being cleared 

 up, fertilized and pruned, and bright visions of 

 old-time profits fill the dreams of the vine grow- 

 ers. From all lands comes the testimony that 

 the copper mixtures recommended by the Agri- 

 tultural Department have furnished them the 

 means for destroying the enemy.— W. F. Massey, 

 in Phila. Press. 



A New Use for Peach Stones. From experi- 

 ments tried in California, where Peach stones 

 accumulate in great quantities during the can- 

 ning season, it appears that they make as good a 

 fire for household purposes as the very best kind 

 of coal. For this purpose the fruit growers now 

 dispose of the stones at $6 a ton. It will last 

 as long as the same number of pounds of coal 

 and will give much more intense heat. Apricot 

 stones will not burn as readily as those of the 

 Peach.— Mass. Plowman. 



Preserving the Colors of Flowers. A process 

 of preserving the coloi-s of flowers in dried spec- 

 imens, as used in Berlin, consist in steei)ing the 

 plants in a solution of sulphurous acid contain- 

 ing one-fourth of its volume of metylated spirit. 

 Delicate flowers require an immersion of but five 

 or ten minutes, and thick leaves as much as 

 twenty-four hours. They are then removed, 

 the fluid Is allowed to evaporate, and the plants 

 are dried between paper in the usual way.— Sci- 

 entiflc American. 



White Plume for Early. For early Celery I 

 still adhere to the White Plume. It is slightly 

 strong in flavor and a little hard unless it is 

 banked up; but the ease with which it is grown 

 and its attractive appearance compensate for 

 these defects. For use after Christmas I like 

 the Golden Heart. It keeps well, is excellent in 

 quality, and its delicate creamy tint very pleas- 

 ing.— E. S.Goff, in Rural New Yorker. 



Vegetable Products on the Table. 



Spinach. Boil in salt and water, drain, chop 

 and then return to the saucepan with some but- 

 ter; set on the fire until the butter is melted. 



Parsnip Cakes. Boil six Parsnips tender, peel 

 and mash them, mix with them one or two eggs 

 well beaten, and two teaspooufuls of wheat flour, 

 with salt to taste. Make them up in small cakes 

 and fry them in hot lard. 



Potatoes in Spring. When the Potatoes lose 

 their mealy quality, inire them and put to soak 

 in cold water an hour before boiling. Rice is a 

 good substitute for Potatoes when they have 

 grown soggy.— Farm Journal. 



Stewed Tomatoes. Open a can of Tomatoes, 

 put in a saucepan and set on the back of the 

 stove; cook one hour, add a teacup of bread 

 crumbs, two ounces of butter, with salt and x^er- 

 per; cookhalf an hour.— Farm, Home and Garden. 



Vegetable Oyster Cakes. Select good, large- 

 sized Oyster plant roots, grate them, and add to 

 each gill of grated Oyster plant two eggs, one 

 pint of milk and flour enough to make a batter, 

 and salt. Drop it by tablespoonf uls into hot lard. 

 Fry till brown.— Home Companion. 



Various Vegetables. Sweet Corn (dried) is im- 

 proved by adding twice as much sugar as salt 

 used in cooking it. Turnips cooked in the same 

 way are better than when boiled with meat. 

 Parsnips boiled in water slightly salted, which is 

 thickened with a gravy made of rich milk, with 

 a little flour stirred in, are excellent. 



How to Keep Lemons. Lemons, always so 

 grateful in illness and better than medicine for 

 a disordered stomach, may be kept plump and 



fresh for months in a tight jar or cask and cov- 

 ered with clear, cold water. The water should 

 be changed every two or three days, and the jar 

 kept in a cool place.— American Farmer. 



Stewed Asparagus. Break the Asparagus in 

 pieces about two inches in length, casting aside 

 the portions that will not snap, and cook fifteen 

 minutes in very little water Add a spoonful of 

 butter, also a spoonful of flour stirred into a cup 

 of cream, a little pepjier, and salt if needed, boil 

 three minutes and serve.— Medical Classics. 



Asparagus Omelet. Steam a half a pint of 

 fresh, brittle Asjiaragus until tender; chop fine, 

 and add to the eggs, using half as many whites 

 as yelks, and beating them separately; to the 

 whites of three and yelks of six eggs add three 

 spoonfuls of cream. Heat a frying pan, put in a 

 spoonful of fresh butter, and when it has melted 

 pour in the omelet. —Medical Classics. 



Cherry Pudding. Two eggs, one cup sweet 

 milk, a tablespoonful of baking powder in the 

 flour, making the batter about as thick as for 

 pancakes. Stir in as many Cherries as it will 

 hold, say well on to a quart (canned ones will do); 

 put it all in a pan and cover, then put the pan in 

 a steamer and steam three hours. For the sauce, 

 use Cherry juice, sugar, butter and a little Corn- 

 starch. —Germantown Telegraph. 



Spinach with Gravy. Wash and boil in the 

 usual manner; then drain, squeeze, and chop it 

 very small. Melt a slice of butter in a stew pan, 

 mix with a tablespoonful of flour, and beat the 

 mixture with a wooden spoon till every knot is 

 bruised out; then add the chopped Spinach, a 

 good seasoning of salt, and as much rich stock as 

 will sufficiently moisten the whole. Stir over 

 the Are until quite hot, then serve in a hot dish. 

 —Country Gentleman. 



To Can Asparagus. Wash and prepare it as for 

 cooking; put in glass jars tips upwards, set the 

 jars in a pan of hot water and then fill each jar 

 with boiling salted water. Put on the covers of 

 the jars without the rubbers and set each one 

 upon a wooden frame in a boiler of boiling water. 

 It is best to place kitchen towels between them. 

 Let the water reach up to the neck of the jars. 

 Cook the Asparagus twenty minutes in this way, 

 then remove the jars from the boUer, unscrew 

 the covers, put on the rubbers, fill up with boil- 

 ing water weU salted if it has boiled down in the 

 jar while cooking, replace the covers, screw them 

 down as tight as you can, when they are cold 

 tighten them again and set away.— Farm Journal. 



How to Cook Seakale. After being cut, keep 

 in a dark, cool place until cooked. Use the 

 young spring shoots and stalks of the unfolded 

 leaves, blanched by being earthed up and 

 covered, whilst growing. Sometimes the ribs of 

 the large leaves are peeled and di-essed as Aspar- 

 agus, after the plants have ceased to send up 

 young shoots. The shoots should be cut off 

 close to the crown of the plant, carefully washed 

 and tied in small bundles. These bundles should 

 be thrown into boiling water slightly salted, and 

 kept boiling forty to fifty minutes. The Kale 

 should then be drained, the bundles untied and 

 served on buttered toast, laying all the heads in 

 one direction, with plain melted butter or white 

 sauce. Or soak the toast in the water in 

 which the Seakale s boiled instead of having 

 it buttered. If a change is desired, for variety, 

 the Seakale may, after being boiled in salt and 

 water for a quarter of an hour, be drained and 

 put into a stew-pan and covered with brown 

 gravy stew until tender, then lay on a hot dish; 

 add a little Lemon-juice to the gravy and pour 

 over it.— English Farm and Home. 



HOUSE PLANTS. 



Abutilons can now go outside. Put them In good 

 soil and attend to proper syringing and pruning. Later 

 give a top dressing of manure. 



Begonias like rich soil, an abundance of water and 

 plenty of light, but no direct sun rays. Keep in a 

 sunny window lightly shaded. 



Boxes are better than pots for young plants. Have 

 handles and castors on them for convenience In mov- 

 ing. Shift plants every third year. A top dressing of 



