224 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



July. 



firm lis Wilsou, and large thrifty foliaj^e. Amoug 

 other especially thrifty sorts the Bubach stjinds 

 conspicuously with its mammoth foliage, but no 

 fruit as yet; Logan well set with rather late fruit; 

 Xtasca' forming immense stools with late fruit; 

 Candy's Prize, fine foliage, but yet without fruit; 

 Cloud, another late berry; Jessie, Ivanhoe, etc. 



The Wilson, we repeat, cannot yet be spared 

 for this section. In health and fruit production 

 it is little behind the very best in the lot; and 

 on our neighbor's (a Strawberry grower's) 

 grounds it yields a fine crop, while Jessie, Sharp- 

 less, and a number of other sorts lost almost 

 every berry l;)y the memorable frost of May 39th. 



For the purposes of fall planting with the ex- 

 pectation of a crop next spring, the Wilson ranks 

 yet among the most reliable sorts, but from our 

 limited acquaintance with Warfield and Haver- 



TRELLISE FOR LIMA BEAN, 

 land, we should consider them of greater i)romise 

 in this direction than of the rest. Further trials 

 will tell the story. 



TrfAlia fur Lima Beans. For our row of Limas 

 200 feet in length we have made a cheap trellis 

 as illustrated above, and which for several 

 years wc have used for Lima and other Pole 

 Beans. For this trellis heavy posts are set firmly 

 and deeply at the ends of the row, with smaller 

 but reasonably stout posts or stakes 20 feet apart 

 between them. The tops of these of course 

 should be in even height, so that a straight, stout 

 wire can be run between the two end posts over 

 the tops of the intermediate posts or stakes. 

 Another lighter wire is stretched between the 

 posts about six inches from the ground, and 

 common white cotton yarn wound zigzag around 

 the two wires. If the posts are set straight 

 and uniform, the wires stretched tightly and the 

 yarn adjusted regularly, such a trellis will be not 

 only useful but highly ornamental from the 

 start, and when vine-clad present quite an at- 

 tractive feature of the premises. With a trellis 

 of this sort the vines need hardly any attention, 

 so far as tying or fastening to the support is con- 

 cerned. They always take kindly to the strings. 



We believe in planting our Limas in a continu- 

 ous row, and pretty thickly besides. The greater 

 amount of seed required is of little consequence 

 compared with the advantages of the full stand 

 of plants which in insures. Should there be a 

 bare space in the row, aft<?r all, it can easily be 

 remedied. First dig a little hole where you want 

 the plants, then take up with spade or trowel a 

 clump of soil with a few plants on it, where they 

 staud too thick, and plant where wanted. Limas 

 transplant quite readily any way. 



Our' Vineyard. The long continued warm 

 weather of April and May had givenusadeUght- 

 f ul feeling of security; but the destructive frost 

 towards end of May brought a sudden awakening 

 such as neither fruit grower nor gardener fancies. 

 Whole vineyards in this neighborhood lost their 

 entire fruit, and it is feared that the damage will 

 extend over another season, since considerable 

 new growth had already been made, and nearly 

 all of this was killed back. Our young vines, be- 

 ing set somewhat late, did not suffer as they 

 otherwise would hava done; but nearly all the 

 new growth on them was destroyed. The Clin- 

 tons, and a few others, and strange to say, a 

 scattering vine or two among the Niagaras, 

 Wordens and Concords, of which there are a 

 number planted, escaped entirely unhurt. Not 

 in the least disheartened, however, all vines 

 have begun to make new growth in good earnest. 



ProtectiAm Aiiaimt Frost. The single circum- 

 stance that our garden was made rather late, 

 saved us much worry concerning our crops when 

 the indications pointed to a frost. A few of Hen- 

 derson's Bush Lima Beans and some early Pota-, 

 toes were really the only vegetable crops ex- 

 posed, and they were covered up with soil on 

 the evening previously, and suffered no injury- 

 Some of our neighbor had acres of Tomatoes 

 planted, and few. if any. of the plants escaped, 

 except in one instance, where the plants were 

 bent over to the ground and covered with soil, 

 as we did with our Beans. A patch of Sweet 

 Corn we saw treated in same way with entire 

 success. A few days later we felt confident to 



set our Tomato and <ither tender plants in open 

 ground, and they are doing finely indeed. There 

 is hardly ever a gain in planting them before the 

 beginning of settled warm weather— say first of 

 June in this latitude. 



Weed l)e>itruetion. The extremely wet season 

 compels us to use horse cultivators and hand 

 wheel hoes pretty freely. On the other hand 

 it makes hand weeding, especially weed pulling, 

 quite easy. But just in such times promptness 

 of action is of utmost importance. Weeds grow 

 fast, and if their destruction be delayed to the 

 latest presumably safe date, another rainy week 

 may set in, and at the end of it the garden be 

 overrun with weeds almost beyond redemption. 

 The free use of the wheel hoes, however, and an 

 occasional hand weeding keeps the vegetable 

 section clean and beautiful to look at, so in reality 

 we fear no danger. In loose, 

 sandy soil the fingers often 

 answer very well for a " hand 

 weeder," but where the soil is 

 hard or baked, some sort of tool 

 with a sharp edge, to gouge 

 into the ground and cut out 

 the weeds is required. We 

 make use of various hand 

 weeders, as Lang's and Hazel- 

 tine's, or simple home made devices, knives, 

 etc. Almost any sharp-edged small tool will 

 answer the purpose. Some years ago we gave 

 to our boys in the Onion field a common iron 

 spoon each for weeding. This works well in 

 scooping the soil away from the bulbs, which 

 should grow on top of the ground, not in it. Now 

 we generally use Lang's weeder to scrape the 

 soil aside and to let the bulbs stand as indicated 

 by the figure at the left in illustration. If the 

 soil is drawn up to the plants, as shown at the 

 right, the Onions are said to be more liable to run 

 to neck. Such specimens are not desirable, nor 

 allowed on our grounds. 



Strawberries In New Jersey. A Re- 

 view of the Season. 



WM. F. BASSETT. ATLANTIC CO., N. J. 



The Strawberry crop of Southern New 

 Jersey has been a gootl one this season, but 

 prices ruled low, partly because Maryland 

 and Delaware berries were later than usual 

 as compared with New .Jersey, and con.se- 

 quently came more directly in competition 

 with them. As usual. Crystal City came in 

 a week ahead of other varieties. We have 

 tried nothing yet which will take the place 

 of it for the table as it is so early and so 

 good, but it is not sufficiently productive for 

 the market. May King is also a necessity 

 on account of its extra quality, and it some- 

 times produces paying crops for market, 

 but ofteuer not over % as much as Crescent 

 and other market sorts. 



Among newer varieties Warfield No. 3 is 

 most promising for market. It is pistillate, 

 and an immense runner like the Crescent, 

 and like that makes rather small plants tm- 

 der ordinary circumstances, but the berries 

 are .50 per cent larger on an average 

 through the season, firmer and of better 

 color, and at least as productive, a small 

 plat of them (1-tO of an acre) having pro- 

 duced this season at the rate of nearly 7,000 

 quarts per acre with ordinary treatment. 

 This berry is broadly 

 conical with a slight 

 neck, of a very bright 

 crimson scarlet as usual- 

 ly picked for market, 

 coloring all over very 

 evenly. When fully ripe 

 it is a dark glossy crim- 

 son. It is, however, too 

 acid to eat without plen- iet'eJ Culture versus BUlino for Onions. 



ty of sugar and cream decidedly promising. ; market than could be sold at a remunera- 



Haverland, another pistillate variety, is | tive price to the growers, the only parties 

 equally large and productive, and would be who have realized fair pay for their services 

 equal as a market berry if not rather light being the pickers and the transportation 

 in color which is a light scarlet. It is not j companies, but it may be an open qestion 



son just two weeks later than Crystal City. 

 It is an exceptionally strong grower, and the 

 first berries which ripened were the largest 

 of the season, but the balance of the crop has 

 not kept up the extra size. In color it is a 

 bright scarlet; the quality is good, and it is 

 firmer than any other variety we ever tried, 

 except Atlantic, but it has not this season 

 produced enough to make it a paying varie- 

 ty for market, and a considerable per cent, 

 of the berries have a hard tip. It .spite of 

 these defects, however, we value it highly 

 as a late variety for our table, and think it 

 has come to stay. 



We hoped to see Jessie turn out a bigger 

 crop this season then last but it has not 

 done so, and although it has some excellent 

 qualities as a market berry, prominent 

 among which is great firmness, we fear that 

 for our section, it will ouly be retained for its 

 extra quality, and will not be much grown 

 for market. It also has the fault of being 

 very variable in size, producing some very 

 large berries and quite as many small ones. 

 Bubach No. .5 is remarkable for size of 

 growth, very large and very productive, 

 yet I do not like it; it is soft, and most of the 

 berries cockscombed with deep and irregu- 

 lar sutures between the lobes. 



Bomba, with us, rusted both last year 

 and this worse than any other variety, and 

 of coiu-se the fruit was worthless. Pearl I 

 have only seen fruiting on very poor sandy 

 land without culture, and it produced all 

 that could reasonably be expected. The 

 berries are good size and good in quality 

 and fairly firm, but not very bright in color. 

 Plants which we set in September last on 

 good soil are making a vigorous growth. 



Cloud's Seedling set this spring gives prom- 

 ise of being more productive, and of larger 

 size than any other very early variety we 

 have yet seen, and it is of fairly good quali- 

 ty, but not nearly as good as Crystal City. 

 Among older varieties which have some ex- 

 cellent points we shall retain Prince of Ber- 

 ries and Indiana, the former for its gootl 

 quality and lateness ; both would be good 

 market varities if a little more productive. 

 We would drop Cumberland Triumph 

 were it not that there is some demand for 

 plants, as it is but little, if- any more pro- 

 ductive than Jessie, and softer and lacking 

 in flavor, and if we retain Kentucky it will 

 be for the same reason, as Vineland more 

 then fills its place being similar in style of 

 growth, quality, lateness and general ap- 

 pearance, except that it is rounder in form, 

 and it is considerably larger and more pro- 

 ductive. Mammoth, which should have 

 been noticed among new varieties, has only 

 produced a few scattering berries of irregu- 

 lar size and more irregular form, and ripen- 

 ing all through the season from rather 

 early till quite late, and has been charac- 

 terized as a mammoth fraitd. 



I think it is an unquestionable fact that 

 more Strawberries have been placed on the 



so acid as Warfield, but rather watery and 

 insipid in ffavor. Some of these which were 

 transplanted in May, when nearly ready to 

 bloom, produced a fair crop. Gandy is a 

 promising very late variety, being- this sea- 



whether a wider distribution could have 

 been efl'ected in any manner to use the 

 whole crop at paying prices. It is a matter 

 of considerable importance just now to the 

 Blackberry growers, for the crop last year 



