214 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



June, 



orchard trees. Perhaps the Chestnut leads the 

 list for profit, followed closely by the Shellbark, 

 and even the common Bhuk Walnut is quite In 

 demand. In the Northern States the Pecan and 

 English Walnut are unreliable, only succeed- 

 ing in sheltered locations, and of course are be- 

 yond the question of profit. The main point to be 

 considered in cultivating Nuts, is the selection of 

 proper varieties. Large, showy fruit requires no 

 more care, and occupies no more ground than 

 the smaller size, yet the price obtained for the 

 former may be double or more of that of the 

 latter.— Farm Journal. 



Blasting Holes to Plant Trees. Few people 

 elsewhere in the world may ever have heard of 

 blasting holes to plant shade or fruit trees, said 

 a cultivator the other day, yet the practice is 

 common here and shows good results. In most 

 places there is found sufficient top soil for any 

 purpose, but as land has become valuable, people 

 have cast about for means to utilize lands where 

 the coarse sand rock comes too near the surface 

 for sucessful tree planting. A blast, well put in, 

 creates a pocket for broken rock mixed with top 

 soil, which furnishes a basin to hold moisture as 

 well as a deeper and cooler hold for the roots. 

 It is yet too early to say what will be the ulti- 

 mate results of such planting, but in a climate 

 like ours, where a superfluity of rainfall is not 

 likely to occur, it may be successful.— San Diego 

 Union. 



Distribntion of Starch in Potato. A test re- 

 ported by Mr. E. S. Goff in Agricultural Science, 

 showed that the part richest in starch lies within 

 the-cambium layer, and adjacent to it, and that 

 the portion lying nearest the so-called seed end 

 is richer in starch than the opposite end. Cut- 

 tings from the seed-end yielded more than cut^ 

 tings from the stem-end, but the greater vigor of 

 the eyes at the seed end as compared with those 

 at the opposite end can hardly be accounted for 

 by the slightly greater amount of starch in that 

 part of the tuber. The only conclusion as to the 

 method of cutting for seed seems to be that it is 

 probably better to cut the tuber longitudinally, 

 since transverse cutting would unequally divide 

 the nutriment of the plant.— Garden and Forest. 



Orchard Prnning. This question was discussed 

 at length at the meeting of the Iowa State Hor- 

 ticultural Society two years ago' and a resolution 



The A U C of Pruning. Sec preceding page. 

 was passed by unanimous vote favoring the idea 

 that the best time to prune fruit trees was when 

 leaves were about two-thirds grown in spring. 

 Members seemed to unite in the opinion that the 

 wounds made at this time would heal rapidly and 

 perfectly, and that the vitality of the tree was 

 lowered less than at any other time. But the 

 pruning in orchard and nursery cannot all be 

 done in one day, so in a general way we can say, 

 prune lightly at any one time from the time that 

 the leaves have attained nearly full size to the 

 completion of the tii-st extension of growth in 

 early June.— J. L. Budd, in Farmers' Review. 



Manure Does Not Bring Blight. I know of an 

 orchard of many hundred Duchess Pear trees 

 where cultivation was omitted for a term of 

 years, and the trees last season were loaded with 

 the choicest of large fruit. But this orchard had 

 been treated annually to a heavy mulch sufficient 

 to nearly subdue all grass, weeds, etc., furnish 

 the required fertility and retain moisture in the 

 soil during the summer drouths. The once oft- 

 repeated theory that Pear blight was induced by 

 free application of manure is another fallacy. 

 One of our most successful growers informed 

 me that his orchard of 1,500 trees had been ma- 

 nured regularly each year, with one exception 

 since planted.— Irving D. Cook, in Tribune. 



The demand for Sycamore Inmher, as the wood 

 of Plantanus occidentalis is called, is increasing 

 very rapidly wherever Tobacco is packed. This 

 wood, which does not split readily, is now almost 

 exclusively used in the United States for Tobacco 

 boxes, and immense quantities are shipped to 

 Richmond, St. Louis and other Tobacco packing 



centres. One mill on the Embarras river, in 

 southern Illinois, has within a few months re- 

 ceived orders for eleven million feet of lumber; 

 and mills through that part of the country are 

 busy sawing up the great Sycamores, which once 

 were the crowning feature of the country of the 

 Illinois.- Garden and Forest. 



Crop in a Young Orchard. Corn is an excellent 

 crop to grow in a young orchard: but do not 

 plant so close to the trees but that you have 

 plenty of room for cultivating without there be- 

 ing danger of injuring the trees. The reason 

 why Com is such a good crop for this purpose is 

 because it receives all its cultivation early in the 

 season, and the soil is not worked late, which 

 would stimulate an autumn growth, and thus 

 hinder ripening of the wood. Of course other 

 cultivatable crops may be safely grown in an 

 orchard, if they do not necessitate a late working 

 of the soil.— Farm and Fireside. 



Peas Among Strawberries. This year I con- 

 ceived the idea of planting Peas (the field Pea) 

 between my rows of berries for the purpose of 

 shading and protecting them from the hot rays 

 of the sun. I kept the Pea-vines from smother- 

 ing the plants b.v trimming the vines. It proved 

 a perfect success, and my plants are now green 

 and vigorous and full of blossoms. — C. B. F., in 

 Southern Cultivator. 



Nitrate of Soda for Greenhouse. I have used 

 it for several months, and use no other liquid 

 manure. It is so convenient to dash a large spoon- 

 ful, or about a handful, into a two gallon water- 

 ing pot, where it dissolves at once, for there is 

 nothing more soluble, and you at once have the 

 means for pushing the growth of a specimen or 

 reviveing a pot bound plant. — W. F. Massey, in 

 American Garden. 



Hardwood sawdust makes a good mulch for 

 Strawberi'ies and other small fruits, as it very 

 soon decays so as to make a substance very much 

 like chip dirt. Rotton wood or rotten logs make 

 an excellent manure or mulch for the berry 

 family. Pine sawdust is not good, because it 

 hardly rots at all and will injure the plants, so 

 many growers say.— Gleanings. 



Fruit Industry in California. The ease with 

 which fruit growers, packers and shippers are 

 made wealthy on paper is astonishing. The fruit 

 business, if properly conducted, is, one year with 

 another, a good paying business, but growers and 

 packers do not become immensely wealthy from 

 the sale of their fruits in one or two yeare.— Cal- 

 ifornia Fruit Grower. 



Easily Tried, Pans of water placed in fruit 

 and berry patches will keep birds from eating 

 the fruit. It is claimed that the reason birds eat 

 Cherries and Strawberries is because they get 

 dreadful thirsty, and it they can easily get at 

 water they soon leave of taking the fruit. — Amer- 

 ican Culti\-ator. 



True of Garden Management Also. A little 

 business common sense might be applied with 

 profit to our Apple orchard management. — H. E. 

 Van Deman, in American Farmer. 



Vegetable Products on the Table. 



Flour for Bread and Pastry. Make a note of 

 it: For the best and most nutricious bread, use 

 Spring Wheat flour ; for the finest pastry, use 

 Winter Wheat flour.— Table Talk. 



Keeping Mushrooms. Being partial to Mush- 

 rooms, I have tried many ways, but succeeded in 

 only one. They were made into a soup, well 

 cooked, highly seasoned, and canned, and this 

 answers the purpose. — New York Tribune. 



Potato Salad. To halt a dozen medium-sized 

 Potiitoes chopped, add two or three Onions 

 chopped fine, salt, pepper, mix well and put on 

 a dish ; pour over it just enough vinegar to 

 moisten it, or what is better, a salad dressing. 



Green Peas and Pods. We find the flavor and 

 quality of most Peas much enhanced by stewing 

 the pods in a little water, and when quite tender 

 pressing till the pulp exudes. This sweet mar- 

 rowy puree is the very best part of the Pea yield, 

 and should not be thrown to the pigs, although 

 their great enjoyment of fresh Peapods is a pleas- 

 ant thing to see.— New York Tribune. 



Fruit Pudding. A nice, healthful pudding for 

 dessert may be made b.v putting a layer of stale 

 bread into a saucepan, then a layer of fruit, 

 sugar, more bread, fruit, etc., until the pan is 

 full. Then add enough water to moisten all well, 

 sprinkle sugar over top, which should be bread, 

 and bake until done— the bread should be browned 

 nicely. Serve with cream or rich milk. 



Choosing Asparagus. ^Yhen perfectly fresh, 

 the Asparagus should be delicately white and 

 firm to the touch. If the cut ends are brownish 

 and dry, the heads drooping, and the Asparagus 

 altogether limp, the vegetable is stale. When 

 first cut, it may be kept a day, or even two, if the 

 ends of the stalks are placed in cold water, but it 

 is always best when fresh.— Amateur Gardening. 



Salad Dressing. The yolk of a hard-boiled 

 i^^gg worked smooth in a cup with one-half a tea- 

 spoonful of mustard, one-half teaspoonful salt, 

 one teaspoonful sugar ; add to this a teaspoonful 

 melted butter, drop at a time, and stir constantly; 

 then add heated vinegar, drop at a time, until 

 the cup is about halt full, or enough to moisten 

 the salad. Omit the sugar if for Potato salad, 

 and do not use so much salt.— Florida Dispatch. 



Evaporated Fruit- Rinse the fruit thoroughly 

 in clean water, then place in an earthen dish, 

 covered with water, for ten to fifteen hours be- 

 fore using. This water contains the flavor and 

 nutrition soaked out of the fruit. Simmer slow- 

 ly, until it is cooked through, adding sugar as re- 

 quired ; serve either hot or cold. In this way you 

 secure a wholesome dish, full flavored, greatly 

 resembling the original fresh product. — Califor- 

 nia Fruit Grower. 



Asparagus Toast. This is a most delicious, 

 quickly-prepared breakfast dish. When any As- 

 pai'agus has been left over from the previous 

 day, chop all the green and teuderpartsupsmall, 

 put them into astewpan withan ounce of butter, 

 two tablespeonfuls of milk or cream, a little salt 

 and pepper, and two or three well-beaten eggs. 

 Stir quickly over the Are for a minute until the 

 eggs are somewhat set, then have ready some 

 small neat rounds of well-buttered toast. Pour 

 over and serve.— Amateur Gardening. 



Spinach With Cream. Pick the leaves from 

 the stalks, and wash the Spinach in several waters 

 till quite free from sand and grit. Put it into a 

 large saucepan with barely enough water to keep 

 it from burning; add a sufficient quantity of salt, 

 and turn the vegetable frequently while cook- 

 ing. \\Tien done enough, drain the Spinach in a 

 colander, squeeze it dry, and chop it fine. Put it 

 into a clean saucepan with a few tablespoonf uls 

 of boiling cream, a sprinkling of fine sugar, and 

 a grating of nutmeg. Make the Spinach thor- 

 oughly hot, then pile it in the shape of a mound 

 on the centre of a hot dish, and serve. 



HOUSE PLANTS. 



Balsams. For decorative plu*poses grow them as 

 pot plants iu light, rich soil. 



Cactus after blooralug may be planted out In the 

 border and kept there during summer. 



Calceolarias. It deslied for earliest winter-bloom, 

 sow seeds this mouth. The young seedlings require 

 considerable wat«r and some shading. Pot them off 

 when large enough and plunge into a frame, providing 

 shade and water. 



Cinerarias to be treated like Calceolarias. 



Fuchsias. Suitable supports for these and other 

 rapid growing plants serve a good purpose. 



Hanging Baskets. To keep them from drying cutis 

 the chief point of Importance. Plunge the whole bas- 

 ket Into a tub of water occasionally, letting It get 

 thoroughly soaked through. The water may also be 

 applied directly to the center of the basket in a small 

 stream flowing through a tapering spout from a cup or 

 cau, or In some similar way. In some cases a dish of 

 water mighi be fastened above the basket, and a small 

 continuous stream allowed to trickle down upon it. 

 The water supply, of course, needs frequent renewal. 



Hibiscus. Cuttings may be struck for next season's 

 stock, the old plants to be summered out doors. 



Oxalis. Gradually dry off plants now past blooming 

 and intended for flowering next winter. 



Plants in Vases and Veranda Boxes. These often 

 suffer from superficial watering. Be sure that the 

 whole mass of earth lu them is thoroughly saturated 

 once a day in clear weather. 



Pomegranates. When commencing to bloom, stimu- 

 late by applications of weak manure water. Try ni- 

 trate of soda or ammonia. 



Pot Plants. Those standing on the benches in a 

 greenhouse are liable to strike root through the drain- 

 age hole, and get a Arm hold in the soil under the pots. 

 Turning them occasionally will prevent this. 



