240 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



July, 



Correspondents are urged to anticipate the season in pre- 

 senting questions. To ask, for instance, on April 15 or 20 

 what Peas had best be sown, could bring no answer in 

 the May issue, and none before June, when the answer 

 would be unseasonable. Questions received before the Vifh 

 of any month stand a good chance of being answered in the 

 next paper. Not more than three questions should be sent 

 at one time. Answers to questions bearing on tne com- 

 parative value of implements, etc., offered by different 

 dealers must notbe expected. Neither can we promise to 

 compttt uHih the request sometimes made to "please answer 

 by mail.v Inquiries appearing without name belong to the 

 name next following. . ^ ., 



Replies to Inquiries are earnestly requested from tmr 

 readers. In answering such give the number, BOur 

 loeality and name, the latter not for publication, unless 

 you desire. Write only on one side of the paper. 



1.298. Rootinc Rose Cuttings. When Is the best 

 time for It. and how done? I have tried, and failed.— 

 Mrs. J. W., Muncie, Ind. 



1.299. Mulch for Blackberries. Can pine shingle 

 tow, chips, shavings, eto.. be used for this purpose with 

 safety?— J. H. P.. Burlington, Iowa. 



1.300. Ampelopsis Veilchil. How protected during 

 the first wiuter?-W. B., Ti/ngsboro. Mass. 



1,.301. Destroying Weeds on Lawn. Will "I. M. R., 

 New Bedford, Mass.," please give description of Imple- 

 ment used to pull up the weeds?— Mtts. L. T., Stock- 

 bridge, Mass. 



1,302. Plums on Hill Side, Are Plums adopted to a 

 steep northern slope or what other tree fruit would do? 

 —I. C., roicn Hill, Pa. 



l,3ie. Sod for Small Fruit. What is the best way 

 to enrich and prepare it for planting next spring?— I. 

 C, roii'ii Hill. Pa. 



1,304. Barrenness of Grapes. My two or three 

 Hybrids and a Brighton Grape bloom freely yet set 

 but little fruit. Why?— L. J.. Bordentoum, N. J. 



1,315. Name of Plum. Can you tell the name of a 

 blue Plum in size about like a large Bantam egg?— J. N. 

 A., Boston, Mass. 



1,:mb. Insects in Cistern. How can I get rid of 

 water lice in cistern? All remedies thus far have 

 failed. -Mliti. M. J. H., Lau-son. Mo. 



1.307. Gladioli Roots Rusting. How can It be cured 

 or prevented? 



1.308. Rose Cuttings. In what material and place 

 will fall-prepared, half-hardy Rose Cuttings for open 

 air culture keep and callous best over winter? 



1.309. Treatment of Rose Seedlings. The main crop 

 of plants from fall-sown Rose Seed, finds our clay loam 

 too hard to break through the second spring. Is clear 

 sand the best covering?- F. K. P., Delavan,Wis. 



1.310. Dewberry Plants. How can 1 get the most 

 plants from them?— C. C. C, Dowagiac, Mich. 



1.311. One-Seeded Grape. Is there another besides 

 the Niagara?— L. H., Winchester, Iowa. 



1.312. Bagging Grapes How and when is it done? 

 — J. D., Macomb, Ills. 



1.313. Japan Anemones. I bought some Alba and 

 Rubra a year ago last fall. They are fine, large, healthy- 

 looking clumps, but none of them has flowered yet. 

 What shall 1 do with them?— Mrs. Z. Z. M. 



1.314. Violet Leaves Damping. What can I do to 

 prevent or cure it?— Carus, Cof. Co., Neb. 



1.315. Improving Sandy Soil. How should I treat 

 laud that is rather too sandy to hold moisture and 

 manure well?— B. T., Warwick, N. J. 



1.316. Asparagus Tennissimus. When and how 

 Is it propagated?— A. O. H. 



1.317. Automatic Force Pump. Is the Hydronette of 

 Rumsey & Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y., automatic, or Is 

 there no automatic force pump?— A. G. H. 



1.318. Russian Mulberry. Is It a good tree for lawn, 

 or for its fruit, or for forest culture?— R. T. 



1.319. Passion Flower. How is it propagated? 



1.320. Girdling Appletrees. At what season, and 

 how is this done, to induce bearing?— E. A. C, N. T. 



1.321. Embossed Paper Bouquet Holder. Please 

 give address of manufacturer?— J. B., Albany, Oreg. 



1,332. Pea Weevil. How can I keep my seed Peas 

 free from them?— R. T. G., Kalamazoo, Mich. 



1.323. Strawberries in Young Orchard. Is this a 

 good location for them?— E. B. D., Rochester, N, T. 



1.324. Value of Manures. What Is more profitable 

 to use, commercial fertilizers at current rates, or stable 

 manure at 25 cents per wagon load when the latter has 

 l« be hauled half a mile?— B. Y., Richmond, Va. 



1.325. Land Plaster. What is its fertilizing value? 

 — D. J. D., Manchester, ^'er^nont. 



1.326. Plants for Exhibit. Is greenhouse or out-door 

 culture preferable for Coleus, Begonias, Fuchsias and 

 Geraniums intended for the exhibit in the fall, and to 

 be kept over winter for stock?— A. G. C, Mass. 



1.327. Improved Beehive. Where can I get one of 

 the most Improved make?— A. H., Newark, N. J. 



1,828. Grafting Clematis. Which Is the best time of 

 the year for this?— J. M., Hamilton, Ont. 



1,329. Root Pruning. 1 desire more information on 

 Root Pruning, both in the form of repeated transplant- 

 ing, and in that of regular Root Pruning in the young 

 orchard, for Pear, Plum, perhaps Cherry and Apple 

 Trees.— Shirk. 



1,3:10. Planting Raspberries. When Is the best time, 

 fall or spring? What hardy kinds, both red and black, 

 would you recommend to plant for market? 



1.331. Hardy Roses. Name the best three.— M.H.L.. 

 Toledo, Kan. 



1.332. Marechal Niel Rose. What treatment shall 

 1 give my young Niel Rose, kept in a general-purpose 

 greenhouse, to obtain most flowers ne.'ct winter? 



1,3:«. Transplanting Rhubarb. When is the, best 

 time to divide the hills so as to have stalks for use next 

 spring? How long does it require to become fit for use 

 from seed? 



1.3.^1. Improving Clay Soil. Will lime Improve my 

 heavy wet, clayey soil, which 1 have to use for a truck 

 pat<.'h, and which 1 am not In shape to drain? How 

 much lime shall I apply?— W. C, Ilolmcsburg, Pa. 



l,:iW. Bones for Fertilizer. What Is the easiest way 

 of dissolving them, or making them quickly available 

 for fertilizer?- F. N. 



1,3;J6. Date Palms. What Is the proper treatment 



for those raised from stones last spring?— R. St. J., Neb. 



i,3!S'. Wide Planting for Grape Diseases. WiU 



glanting vines a greater than the usual distance apart, 

 ave a tendency to prevent Grape diseases?— N. W., 

 Vineland, N. J. 



1.338. Weeping Willow. Is it hardy here with mer- 

 cury occasionally down to 40° below zero?— C. W.. St. 

 Paul, Minn. 



1.339. Seed of Squirrel Corn. Where can it be ob- 

 taIned?-E. J. T.. Franklin, La. 



1.340. Asparagus Bed. How long can It be expected 

 to do well with good feeding and care? Mine was 

 made eighteen years ago, but seems to fail of late, and 

 shows bare spots.— H. R. M., New York City. 



1.341. Worms in Dried Fruit. How can I get worms 

 out of Dried Apples and Berries? T. W., Pa. 



1.342. Heating Amateur Greenhouse. How does 

 H. J. Emmerich prevent loss of heat If he permits direct 

 draft from oil stove to outer air for ventilation?— J. S. 

 R., Portland, Oregon. 



1,M3. Plan of Family Small Fruit Patch. I want 

 to grow a free small fruit (no Grapes) supply for use, 

 fresh, canned and evaporated through the year. How 

 should a plat 100 by 220 upland loam western slope be 

 put to this use, and what kinds well drained? — I. C, 

 Town Hill, Pa. 



1,344. Tree Cricket. What is the insect that has 

 laid Its eggs In openings resembling sewing machine 

 stitching In a double row In the twigs of my Plum 

 tree?— Subscriber, Indiana. 



REPLIES TO INQUIRIES. 



1,292. Lice on Cabbage. It is doubtful If there 

 is a practical method for ridding Cabbages of 

 lice. I have tried several so called remedies. 

 The kerosene emulsion will kill aU the lice that 

 It comes in contact with, but it is impossible to 

 reach them all. And owing to their remarkable 

 power ot multiplication the plants will soon be 

 as much infected as ever. Keeping the ground 

 thipi-uughly cultivated is as likely as anything to 

 prevent the injury.- E. S. Goff. 



1,315. ImproTing Sandy Soil. Soil of a some- 

 what sandy character, although excellent for 

 garden purposes on account of warmth, ease of 

 manipulation, and quickness of responding to 

 fertilizer applications, has the one great fault of 

 allowing moisture, and plant foods with it, es- 

 cape to the lower strata by leeching much faster 

 than is often desirable. This fault is most appa- 

 rent when the soil does not contain much decay- 

 ing vegetable matter (carbon), and hence may 

 be remedied by abundant applications of barn- 

 yard manure. This course is naturally an e.v- 

 pensive one, and a good dressing of clay can 

 often be made still more effective in correcting 

 the mechanical deflciences of sandy soils, and at 

 the same time to add the element potash, which 

 is often deflcient in such soils. It can be put on 

 the land during the fall or winter, at any time 

 when most convenient, and the frost will act on 

 it and pulverize it. A correspondent of Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle stated that he is able to tell to 

 a yard, by the look of crops, where the clay was 

 put; and one that has had several dressings 

 always carries better strawberries and culinary 

 vegetables than either of the othei-s, which have 

 not had any. The land on the first named 

 quarter is more holding of moisture, the clay 

 Uiking moisture from dew and rain, and which it 

 retains better, and absorbs more of the Juices of 

 the manures used than the undressed land. For 

 mixing with light loam for potting Strawberries, 

 clay is of great value, land so it is used, in the 

 same way with manure or leaf-mould for grow- 

 ing Melons, which like stiff soils, but in either 

 case it should be such of it as has become amelio- 

 rated by exposure to the weather. Some gar- 

 denei-s, no doubt, have too stiff and unworkable 

 kind of clay, and long for the lighter material, 

 but the remedy in their case lies the other way, 

 and road scrapings, leat-rakings, and rubbish- 

 heap ingredients, properly and continuously em- 

 ployed, will soon effect an improvement. 



1,196. Echeverlas for Bedding Out. A leaf and 

 small portion of the stalk of E. floribunda 

 splenilens and the sprouts that appear below 

 the plant ot E. secunda glauca and E. metallica 

 are used for propagation, and should be allowed 

 to become dry or callused before potting in a 

 soil mixture containing two thirds sand. When 

 well rooted the plants may be bedded out or re- 

 potted in a compost of eiiuiil iir< ■portions ot leaf 

 mould, fine sand and well rnftid hen manure. 

 They are also propagated from seed which can 

 be obtained of any florist. Seed should be 

 planted early in the season, and require consider- 

 able heat. May is a good time to strike cuttings 

 of Echeverlas.— E. L. P., Crawford Co., Pa. 



1,171. Propagating the Oleander. In .Inly 

 make cuttings of the new growth about three 

 inches in length, place in a small bottle contain- 

 ing soft water. Set in a |jot, Bll the space around 

 bottle with sand and give a southern exposure. 

 Ctittings should be shaded for a few days — E. L. 

 P., Crawfnnl Co. Pa. 



1,211). Bottom Heat and Plant Growth. My 



experience is that bottom heat stimulates root 

 growth, and heat from above top growth. 

 Unions and Radishes grown in a hot-bed were all 

 that could be desired, while Lettuce made a 

 weak and slender growth. Of the same \eget- 

 ables grown in cold frame the former two made 

 only siifBcient root growth to sustain life and 

 the latter was fine. The result was also good 

 with Lettuce grown on the floor of greenhouse. 

 — E. L. P., Crawford Co., Pa. 



1,298. Booting Sose Cuttings. This can be 

 done at any time when the wood is in proper 

 condition. Florists generally use one-eye cut- 

 tings. The wood is fit for cuttings when the 

 flower bud appears on the shoot. The joints are 

 cut about one quarter of an inch above the e.ve 

 and the stem on each cutting left about one inch 

 and a half long. The leaf is shortened somewhat 

 and the cutting put in sand upon sharp bott<tm 

 heat until the roots appear when it is at once 

 potted off in thumb pots. Another way of prop- 

 agating Roses is desciibed in Mr. Henderson's 

 Practical Floriculture. The cuttings are made 

 with three or four eyes just after the wood is 

 ripened enough to show the de\elopment of the 

 buds at the axil of the leaf. Such cuttings can 

 be made any time from C^ctober to January and 

 placed in cold frames, planting in same way as 

 Cabbage or Cauliflower plants that are to be 

 wintered over, and subjecting them to the same 

 winter treatment of airing .vet keeping them as 

 free from -se^'ere freezing as can be done during 

 the winter. Rose cuttings placed in sucii frames 

 about the end of October will be rooted and fit 

 to -pot in March. People not having the con- 

 venience of frames may do it equally well with 

 the protection of the ordinary garden hand glass. 

 In either case it is necessary that the soil be 

 thoroughly drained so that no water stands on it 

 in winter, and if the soil is not naturally sand,v 

 it had better be prepared in about equal propor- 

 tions of sand, leaf mold and loam well mixed 

 together. The cuttings ma.v be inserted quite 

 thickly, say one-half to one inch apart, and 

 three inches between the rows. One thorough 

 watering will usually be all that is required 

 until the cuttings begin to root in spring.— P. G. 



I,a03. Sod for Small Fruit. Give a good dress- 

 ing of barnyard manure in autumn and plow 

 in early spring to the whole depth of the surface 

 soil. If the subsoil is not naturally of a porous 

 character it should also be stirred by means of a 

 subsoil plow. Next cut ui> the lumps, sods, etc,, 

 by means of a disk or other deep cutting harrow: 

 roll, if necessary, and puh'erize the whole sur- 

 face nicely with a smoothing or a Meeker disk 

 harrow. This will be good enough preparation 

 for planting small fruits. 



1.304. Barrenness of Grapes. The cause— a 

 most common occurrence— of this is want of 

 proper pollen at the time of blooming. Many 

 varieties, especially of the pure species, the 

 riparia, rupestris, cordifolia, a^stavalis. etc., 

 always have reflexed stamens and it stand- 

 ing at a distance from vines havinsr erect 

 stamens, will not set much fruit, yet will 

 bear abundantly in the \'icinity of varieties with 

 erect stamens. In nature even these practically 

 pistillate vines find plenty of pollen, since over 

 one half of the wild vines are purely staminate 

 or male. Prof. T. V. Munson's observations 

 have served to make fruit growers in general 

 I>ay more attention to this point, which has con- 

 siderable practical bearing. Lindley, Brighton, 

 and many others (most of Roger's Hybrids among 

 them) have reflexed stamens and it planted alone 

 in vineyard are almost fruitless, but planted 

 among Lady, Martha, Concord or many others 

 that li'a\e erect stamens and bloom at same time 

 with them will bear abundantly. The variety to 

 be fertilized should begin blooming a day after 

 the one which is to furnish the pollen. A Grape 

 vine remains in bloom from three to eight days 

 and each flower must be fertilized the first or at 

 furthest the second day after it opens. Even 

 the bearing vines with erect stamens do better if 

 some properly selected males be planted in the 

 vineyard, and it would not be a bad thing to use 

 some of the wild male varieties of the woods tor 

 this pu rpose,plauting them among our culti vated 

 sorts according to their requirements, and merely 

 for the sake of their free pollen producing and 

 distributing qualities.— P. G. 



1,.320. Girdling Apple Trees. Girdling is in- 

 tended to influence bud development on the 

 wood that is to bear the fruit the season follow- 

 ing. A ring of bark vaiiously stated as from one 

 quarter of an inch to several inches in width, is 

 removed from the body of the tree below the 

 branches, or from all or part ot the branches 

 near their base. This stops the return flow of 

 the sap and tends to the formation of fruit buds 

 at the expense of the wood growth. 



1.305. Name of Plum. This can hardly be 

 given without a fuller description. It might be 

 the Bradshaw, perhaps the German Prune.— P.G. 



