244 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



July, 



Bell Pepper is now entirely eclipsed liy the 

 Ruby King, Golden Upright, etc., with their 

 large-sized fruit that is produced in great 

 abundance. Red Cluster is a smaller but 

 firey sort, making a very ornamental little 

 plant entirely covered with the bright red 

 fruit; Celestian Pepper is ornamental 

 enough for pot culture; fruit medium size, 

 light yellow turning to purple, and of quite 

 strong flavor. 



Potatoes (Class C). Early Potatoes often 

 tit nicely into the crop rotation of the mar- 

 ket garden ; in the home garden, of course, 

 they are a necessity. Ijater varieties are 

 and must always be relegated to the field. 

 Rich soil suits these early dwarf sorts very 

 well and they also take very kindly to the 

 high-grade special Potato manures. Mark 

 out furrows from two and one-half to 

 three feet apart, and four inches deep, in 

 otherwise well prepared soil, and drop fair- 

 sized pieces of well preserved seed tubers 

 eight or ten inches apart, cover lightly and 

 strew the fertilizer (from 400 to 1,200 pounds 

 per acre) over the drills. In working the 

 soil till in the furrows gradually. Cultivate 

 frequently and hoe when necessary. Apply 

 Paris green or London purple in water or 

 plaster whenever bugs are troublesome. If 

 prefen"ed the hills may be slightly hilled, 

 although perfectly level culture will gen- 

 erally give just as good results. When the 

 tops have nearly perished it is time to dig 

 the crop. Early Ohio is yet the first early 

 good Potato and generally reliable for gar- 

 den culture. Early Sunrise follows it 

 closely and is also worthy of trial. The 

 various Early Rose seedlings and Beauty of 

 Hebron well deserve their popularity as 

 early sorts for market and home use. 



Sweet Potatoes (class B). Warm soil 

 and climate are required to grow them to 

 perfection. It is by no means difficult to 

 grow large tubers even at the north; but 

 they are almost always watery and lacking 

 iu flavor. To grow the crop, plants should 

 be started in hot bed, about six weeks be- 

 fore they will be wanted tor setting in open 

 ground. The new manure of the bed is 

 covered with an inch or two of sandy soil, 

 and the seed tubers are placed upon this in 

 a single layer, closely together, and then 

 covered with three or four inches of sand. 

 Water occasionally. 



When the plants (or slips) are ready, pre- 

 pare the ground for the crop by marking out 

 furrows four feet apart, and place a shovel 

 full of good compost, or a handful or so of 

 some good Potato fertilizer every two feet 

 in the row, and over this draw the soil up 

 to form little mounds, flat on top. Then 

 pull the plants, dip their roots in water, and 

 set one upon each mound, so that it will 

 stand in a little depression'in the center. A 

 little water may be poured around the plant 

 in this depression if soil or season is iu the 

 least dry. Be sure to set firmly into the 

 ground. Where the soil is loose enough, 

 the index finger of the right hand may be 

 used as a dibble. 



Cultivate and hoe fi'equently, and when 

 the vines begin to run freely, lift them off 

 the ground from time to time to prevent 

 their rooting. Just before frost the crop 

 should be dug by means of a spading fork, 

 care being taken to lift up each plant with 

 all its roots and tubers without bruising the 

 latter. I^eave in the sun to cure, then store 

 in a warm dry room. 



Close Cropping for Money and 

 Health. 



E. P. POWELL, ONEIDA CO., N. Y. 



I have nine acres of land. My house stands 

 near the center. In front is a tree lawn of 

 about 'J).< acres, to the east a lawn of flowers 

 a little less than half an acre. These are 

 filled with rare and choice trees, shrubs and 

 flowers, and my drives wind in from the 



east highway and from tlie north, and meet 

 around my house; thence moving south- 

 ward to barns and gardens. The hedges 

 border the drives and not the street and are 

 mostly Arbor Vitas and as fine as the United 

 States can .show. My vineyard covers 

 about one acre, and Berries and Currants 

 another acre. The whole land slopes with 

 swales and knolls to the southeast and over- 

 hangs the Oriskany valley. In sight of the 

 city of Utica and half a dozen villages, it is 

 considered one of the handsomest sites in 

 New York state, and is certainly for fruit 

 the best in central New York. 



Now I will show you my gardens and 

 vineyards and you shall criticise as freely as 

 you like. My Currant field is set in rows 

 seven feet apart, and between the Currant 



EDIBLE PODDED PEAS. 



bushes are set Cuthbert Raspberries. These 

 double the profit of the field and do not 

 in.iure or suffer injury. Of course I keep in 

 each hill but four or five canes and do not 

 let the suckers spread. This Held is very 

 profitable with Currants at two dollars and 

 a half a bushel and Cuthberts at four or at 

 three and a half. I grow White Grape and 

 Versailles as my choice, even above Fay. 

 This looks like crowding plants but if you 

 will try it you will find it a success. The 

 ground is strong and rich and not allowed 

 to get poor. 



Between Grape rows of eight feet apart 

 are rows of Currants. In or under the 

 Grape trellises are Strawberries. The 

 Strawberry crop under such circumstances 

 is not ideal but it is good. Cumberland is 

 best for this culture. Considerable hoe 

 work is required and is given. I get the 

 interest of the ground in Strawberries; then 

 again in Currants and finally a good profit 

 in Grapes. The vines are but half of them 

 bearing beyond their first crop, but Berries 

 Grapes and Currants from two and one-half 

 acres netted me about $,S00 this year besides 

 all that we could use ourselves. In full 

 bearing the two acres will readily return 

 from J700 to *800 a year. This does not 

 account for the expense of cultivation, that 

 is for the general help about the place part 

 of which of course goes to the Berries and 

 Grapes. I employ expensive help on the 

 whole because it is the most reliable. 



I do not call this an ideal success. My 

 horticulture is a side issue, but brain work 

 demands reaction, change of occupation, 

 etc. Br. Holmes has his carpenter shop 

 where he recuperates with jack planes and 

 turning lathes. Dr. Beecher used to run a 

 wood saw for himself and some of his poor 

 l)arishioneers. Most of us would prefer 

 gardening as a recreation. In no way can I 

 hope for health, clearness of mental vision, 



and quickness of pen without a frequent 

 retreat from my study to my flower lawns 

 and fruit gardens. This explains that my 

 gardens are not intended for ideals in the 

 way of productiveness. Cash returns are 

 not sought for as the first point but are wel- 

 come in their way. 



Farmers generally cultivate or try to cul- 

 tivate too large farms. The day of profit 

 from large farms in most parts of this State 

 is past. The culture of small fruits does not 

 show any signs of outgrowing the demand. 

 You need not fear to plant. But as a rule 

 it is best to have a variety of fruits .so that if 

 one fails there will still be a fair income. 

 In such farming the women of the house- 

 hold ought to be as deeply interested as the 

 men. Instead of cheese and butter making 

 go out and pick Berries. No matter how 

 cultured a woman may be, health is a desid- 

 eratum, and fruit cultui'e is what is needed. 



Roses for the Home Grounds. 



C. L. VALENTINE, N. J. 



Roses most desirable for greenhouse cul- 

 ture, are not, as a rule, the ones that most 

 fully meet the popular need for the home 

 garden; for the same qualities desirable in 

 a florist's Rose frequently render it unfitted 

 for out-of-door culture, and many of those 

 that are best for forcing, because of unusual 

 size, or fine shape of bud, fashionable color, 

 or some other purely commercial reason, 

 have not the vigor of constitution needed 

 for an out-of-door Rose, or else cannot 

 endure the effects of sun and storm on their 

 color or textiu'e of bloom. Marechal Niel, 

 Niphetos, and the Bennett Roses furnish 

 good examples of this. Bennett becomes 

 single, and faded,and anything but desirable 

 as the Slimmer heat increases; Niphetos is 

 entirely too delicate for out-of-door culture, 

 while Niel is successful only under the fav- 

 oring conditions of southern climate. These 

 Roses are all ranked as first-class, and the 

 novice is almost sure to make mistakes in 

 selection unless he has some other guide 

 than the catalogues. 



For general out-door planting, a Rose to 

 be thoroughly satisfactory, must be of good 

 vigorous constitution, a free bloomer, 

 fragrant, and of good form and substance. 

 It must be to a certain extent mildew resist- 

 ing, or it cannot perfect its flowers, and its 

 must be full double to be good in anything 

 but the bud state. Among well-known sorts 

 LaFrance, p;iise Boelle, and Gen. Jacque- 

 minot form a very satisfactory trio of hardy 

 kinds, while Catherine Mermet, Marie 

 tjuillot, and Coquette de Lyon are excellent 

 Teas, though the last mentioned of each trio 

 would be better if it could be more double. 



Really the most popular style of Rose, the 

 one that calls forth the most ardent admira- 

 tion from the great mass of people, is that 

 having a shaded ground color, with petals 

 laced or edged with some contrasting color. 

 About the best known of these is the 'Tulip 

 Rose," Madame de Watteville. The ground 

 color of this is a creamy yellow, sometimes 

 slightly shaded with blush, while each petal 

 is edged with bright pink, sometimes dark- 

 ening to crimson. Pet«r Henderson con- 

 siders that this Rose exceeds in beauty 

 every other Rose in cultivation. It is strong 

 and vigorous, free blooming and well 

 adapted to the home garden. 



Among the newer ones Princess Beatrice, 

 sent out by Bennett as an extra vigorous 

 variety and the best Tea he ever raised, is in 

 the same style, canary-yellow shading to 

 apricot, and laced with Rose color. 



The most striking Rose of this style, how- 

 ever, is Lenciole, a new sort first sold at 

 retail last years. This is a wonderful color, 

 combination, golden yellow, fawn color and 

 bright peach, red predominating. The buds 

 are of very fine shape, long and pointed. 



