1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



199 



extent among Grape growers, and quantities 

 of their products find their way to the New 

 Yorlv marliets to compete for the early mar- 

 l<et, with the unripe fruit from other sec- 

 tions, disappointing the purchasers, depress- 

 ing the prices, and destroying public confi- 

 dence, and demand for the fully matured 

 and well ripened product of more honest 

 growers. A few inquiries by the city boards 

 of health of such consignments would have 

 a salutary and beneficial effect and teach the 

 shippers a lesson they would remember. 



The after eflect on the vine is not detri- 

 mental, as those who practice the fraud 

 generally know enough to remove the wood 

 operated upon, and retain enough in Its 

 natural condition for future fruitfulness. 



Should fruit thus grown he placed on ex- 

 hibit in competition with other Grapes. 

 Most emphatically no! It is sometimes 

 attempted, but judges who know their bus- 

 iness pass it over with contempt. Some 

 horticultural societies forbid such exhibits 

 in their rules and regulations and all should. 

 Such fruit is superior in size and beauty and 

 very attractive to the eye, and if appearance 

 only were the deciding point it would win, 

 but such deceptive frauds should not be 

 allowed to compete with honestly and nat- 

 urally grown fruit. Putting a premium on 

 dishonesty tends to impede and discourage 

 honest and fair competition. 



I am not aware that ringing is being prac- 

 ticed to any great extent with other fruits, 

 though its tendency would doubtless be in 

 the same direction if done for the same pur- 

 pose. Sometimes a label attached to a tree 

 or a limb with a wire is neglected, the 

 growth increases till the wire cuts com- 

 pletely through the bark and wood, which 

 grows over it, the obstruction, however, 

 being of sufficient duration to cause the 

 girdled branch to form fruit buds sooner 

 than other portions of the tree. The tendrils 

 of Grape vines sometimes grasp a vine or 

 limb of a tree so tightly as to produce simi- 

 lar results, but such instances arising from 

 neglect or accident, differ materially from 

 girdling for a purpose. 



The Navel Orange, one of the largest, best 



as the tree was just coming into bearing. It 

 had nearly covered the wound with a 

 growth of new bark and he was awaiting 

 further developments. 



Another gentleman had girdled branches 

 and sawed the trunks partially off or broken 

 the trees over to the ground, but he could 

 not see that the trees thus treated were at 

 all affected in fruitfulness. They are pro- 

 fuse bloomers and poor fruiters always. It 

 will be seen 



plants seem to take hold of the i^ound with a 

 will, and produce a size of stool, stalk and foliage, 

 a proud, erect carriage and tendency to early 

 and full fruit setting, to all of which we were 

 not accustomed elsewhere . To produce the very 

 finest fruit here, to all appearances, is only; a 

 question of fair treatment. 



We would, for instance, like to have our read- 

 ers take a look at our Wilson's— the old, run-out 

 Wilson, superseded by this or that better, variety, 

 as the introducers of novelties are so often 



that the object 

 sought in gird- 

 ling them was 

 entirely differ- 

 ent from Grape 

 girdling. In- 

 creased fruit- 

 fulness and re- 

 duced size is 



< ^1 ^ ,r~ < 



Fig. 1. Improving the Lawn Grade on the Popular Gardening Grounds. 



needed. The most unpopular Oranges in 

 the Florida district are the larger ones. 



Thinned Versus Un-thvimed Crops. 



and most distinct of this class of Citrus 

 fruits, has the reputation in Florida of being 

 a vei-y shy bearer, and from this cause 

 proves so unprofitable that many trees have 

 been cut down and worked over to more 

 productive varieties. During my recent 

 sojourn in the state I interviewed several 

 growers regarding this Orange, and all 

 without exception agree as to its excellence 

 and unprofitableness. In their efforts to 

 find a remedy for the diflficulty I learned 

 that girdling had been resorted to in hopes 

 of making the trees hold their fruit. One 

 gentleman told me he drew a stout wire 

 around the trunk of a ten year old tree just 

 after it had bloomed. That year no effects 

 were observed, as he could not draw the 

 wire tight enough: but the next season the 

 growth of the tree was sufficient to girdle it 

 and he had a larger crop of fruit to mature 

 on the tree than he had ever had. but not 

 sufficiently large to justify keeping the tree 

 so he dug it out. Another and younger 

 tree experimented with was girdled by re- 

 mo\ing a section of bark from the trunk. 

 The owner's object was to check the vigor- 

 ous growth of the tree in hope that a slower 

 growth would promote productiveness. He 

 thinks he checked the vigor of the tree, but 

 is not yet satisfied as to its effect on the crop 



Notes from the Popular Gardening 



Grounds at La Salle-on-the- 



Niagara. 



The Planting at Woudhanks. The month end- 

 ing with May 10th was a busy one on these 

 grounds. Within that period the thousands of 

 trees, shrubs and plants of which mention was 

 made in these notes last month were planted 

 throughout the place. The outlook for the 

 seasons planting, hurried as it was, is at this 

 writing most promising. We believe that of all 

 kinds, fruit and ornamental, deciduous and ever- 

 green, that were set less than two per cent will 

 fail to grow. Indeed we venture to say that had 

 it not been for the injury some trees received be- 

 tween the time of leaving the nursery rows and 

 of arriving on our grounds, not one-half of one 

 per <ent of the many planted would fail us. 



Our success in planting we attribute to the 

 careful methods pursued in handling the stock. 

 These were in the strongest contrast with much 

 similar work done in this neighborhood, in which 

 as in one example, trees that had been shipped in 

 bulk in box cars were thrown oft on piles in the 

 sun and wind and there allowed to lay in some 

 instances for 24 hours before being given protec- 

 tion to the roots. 



In our own case all trees and plants (they came 

 from a dozen nurseries some 500 or more miles 

 distant) were received in boxes or bales 

 and were in every instance carefully 

 heeled-in within an hour after their ar- 

 rival on the grounds. Particular atten- 

 tion was paid to Arming the soil well 

 against the roots in this operation. In 

 planting, the holes were dug just in ad- 

 vance of bringing the trees from the 

 heeling-ln rows, in order to have the 

 soil as fresh as possible for applying 

 next to the roots. A special precaution taken 

 against root drying, on which much stress was 

 laid, was the ha^dng of a tub of water at the heel- 

 ing-in place into which all roots were submerged 

 as the trees were received, so that they went to 

 the planting holes dripping. On dry, windy days 

 another tub was kept at the place of planting to 

 give the trees a second dose. Unavoidably 

 many trees were advanced to leaving out Ijefore 

 their turn in planting came, but even in these 

 cases the transfer was made without a percept- 

 ible check. When the leaves thus were par- 

 ticularly far advanced and the day dry, a gallon 

 of water was poured onto the tree after the soil 

 over the roots had been well firmed and about 

 two-thirds filled in. 



Another point constantly impressed on the 

 planter was to make the soil very firm by the use 

 of the feet and heels after the roots had been 

 carefully surrounded with earth throughout 

 and had heen fully covered. Due regard was 

 also paid to pruning the tops as the work pro- 

 gressed. By our careful methods even the nut 

 trees and such ornamental kinds as Beeches, 

 Birches, Larches, Hemlock, etc., which have the 

 reputation of requiring very early planting to 

 be successful, have done remarkably well. 



Strawberries. Whatever may be said about the 

 disadvantages connected with soil, the compo- 

 sition of which, as at Woodbanks, requires for 

 best results underdrainage and subsoiling, we 

 doubt that it would be easy to find soil better 

 suited to the culture of the Strawberry, and per- 

 haps to small fruits generally. Even weakly 



pleased to assert. Healthy and thrifty as almost 

 all of the more than one hundred varieties now 

 growing here in the same plot, in long, straight 

 rows, one to a kind, and planted in alphabetical 

 order, appear at this time, have we, after all, to 

 count this same old Wilson among the very thrift- 

 iestland healthiest in the lot, ranking in these re- 

 spects with many of the most renowned of the 

 newer introductions, and surpassed only, as now 

 indicated, by Itasca and BubachV We anticipate 

 that the apparent adaptability of the Wilson for 

 this soil will afford a somewhat severe, critical 

 test for the highly lauded new sorts. We men- 

 tion this especially to show that the days of Wil- 

 son Strawberry are by no means past, and tl\at 

 this old variety has as yet a safe place among 

 varieties that present themselves to the growers 

 consideration when making his selection for 

 planting. Yet we are making progress, and the 

 newer sorts of promise should be tried even 

 where the Wilson does as well as here. 



Early Thinning. That weeds should be re- 

 moved as soon as they make their appearance is 

 recognized by aU, not so generally, however, that 

 superfluous plants in reality are nothing more 

 nor less than weeds, and that early thinnnig, 

 therefore, is fully as Important as early weeding 

 Compare the Radishes grown under the let-alone 

 plan with those properly thinned, as shown in 

 illustration on this page and note the difference. 



Some Lawn Improvements. On two sides of the 

 dwelling at Woodbanks a former owner had con- 

 structed drives less than 30 feet from the house, 

 giving the lawn in these parts a bobbed effect 

 not desirable. A remedy was easily devised on 

 one side by doing away with the drive, devoting 

 the space and beyond to lawn, in the other by 

 moving the drive out to 40 feet from the house. 

 This last improvement is shown by the annexed 

 Fig. 1, the former drive and grade indicated by a 

 dotted hue. 



Aside from commenting on the desirability of 

 making changes of this kind for improving ap- 

 pearances, an object in alluding to this matter is 

 to explain the best methods of uniting a new 

 lawn to an old one in such improvements It 

 was the case in fig. 1 that a fine grass sward ex- 

 tended from the house, as indicated by the dotted 

 line, to the former drive similarly indicated. 

 Should this sward be covered by the soil filled in 

 to make the new surface, and then seeding the 



Fig. 2. Cutting and Boiling up Sod. 



latter back to near the house where it meets the 

 old line of grass? The great objection to such a 

 course is that the new soil tapers toward the 

 house like a wedge (see engraving) and it is im- 

 possible to have the grass seed take hold and 

 thrive on soil as thin as this would be, disturbed 

 as it also is by the covered grass. No good job 

 can thus be done. Besides the grassy turf had 

 better be at the top of the new surface than 

 buried out of sight. 



Our course was a simple one. It consisted in 

 having two men cut into strips and roll up the 

 sod, from the drive back to near the house, as 

 shown in Fig. 2. The strips were about one foot 

 wide, and one length after another was rolled 

 back until the old slope to within a few feet of 



