i886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



1 1 



tion is to be paid to the bedding system of adorn- 

 ment in the future than has been done. The 

 old park don't like to be left so far behind the 

 parks of the younger cities. But can New 

 York afford the extravagance? 



More Poetry Wanted. Fine gardening has 

 well been called the poetry of Nature. As 

 LippincolPs Miiijazinf well suggests, with the 

 Bible, Shakespeare and the Brownings, the 

 world is not greatlj' in need of more vei-se 

 poetrj-; but it is greatly in need of more fruit, 

 more flowei"s and more beautiful gardens. 



Gill-over-the-Ground. This plant, also called 

 Ground Ivy (Ncpeta ijlccomn), is by 

 some voted a nuisance. I, by my 

 treatment, say otherwise. I set the 

 plants in a vase and not another 

 thing besides. Then they cannot 

 spread beyond, and the growth droops 

 gracefully and to a great length 

 over the sides. My vases of these 

 are things of real beauty. May. 



Those who cannot gi'ow Rhododen- 

 drons should take Popular Gar- 

 dening's advice and plant Pseonies. 

 These succeed in all sections, and 

 while, to be sure, they are not Rhodo- 

 dendrons, a fine collection of sorts 

 will afford almost as large a variety 

 of color as will these, and the plants 

 are quit^ as handsome in foliage after 

 the flowers are gone. There is no 

 better time to plant these than Just 

 now. Arrange the plants in bold 

 masses for the best effects. 



Natural Gas for heating and illumi- 

 nating dwellings, factories, etc., is 

 attracting much attention within a 

 section some hundreds of miles from 

 the oil and gas regions of Pennsyl- 

 vania. Even the florists are getting 

 interested. We learn that Paul Butz 

 & Sons, New Castle, Pa., are to heat 

 their entire greenhouse range with 

 gas the coming winter. When in 

 Buffalo we see how close the natural 

 gas mains are laid to the lines of trees 

 in some streets, our gravest appre- 

 hensions for the future wellfare of 

 the trees are aroused. 



With a large increase of readers, 

 the Inquiry Column is grovping. 

 That is right. But will not all our 

 readers do a part in answering the questions? 

 We just believe that what our large family 

 don't know about gardening matters don't 

 amount to much. But how shall all learn of 

 what each member knows, unless each one 

 speaks out; For this is Popular Gardening 

 published, that our family maj' have a medium 

 of communication. So speak out, every one. 

 Answer something. Ask something. Write 

 about something. 



Good Reasons. A tree expert was recently 

 testifying in this city as to the value of trees 

 on land to be taken for park purposes, when 

 the following dialogue occurred: Crnss-e.ram- 

 ininij Lawyer — You say the tree is seven feet 

 in circumference, at four feet from the ground. 

 Why do you not give its diameter, which would 

 be a smaller-sounding figure. Tree Eseperf — 

 I can't measure through a tree, but I can 

 measure around it. C.-e. Lawyer — Whj' do 

 you take all measurements at four feet from 

 the ground ; Tree Expert — To keep the knees 

 of my pants clean. C.-e. Lti wyer — That will do. 



Gardening is a healthy occupation, as is 

 shown both by observation and statijtics. 

 According to figures compiled at the recent 

 Health Exhibition in London, gardeners had a 

 better chance of life than any other class out 

 of some 80 classes, clergymen alone excepted. 

 Taking 1,000 as an average standard number 

 of deaths within a given period, among all the 

 classes, then of gardeners included, who die, 

 the number is hardly more than half the aver- 

 age, that is, .5.5!) ; farm hands, C5o ; farmers, 075 ; 



namely, 1, 12,5 ; while brewere come at 1,361 ; and 

 inn-keepers, 1,.521. 



Advertising by means of a bed of Holland 

 bulbs is done by one enterprising firm in this 

 city. Adjoining the floral depot of this firm, 

 in the heart of the town, is a small triangle of 

 land owned by the city. This these florists 

 have gained permission to adorn with flowers. 

 Every fall they plant it with .some imported 

 Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocuses and so on, using 

 perhaps a thousand bulbs each time. Then for 

 some weeks during the following spring there 



medical men a little above the average, I along the sash bar in a straight line just as 



wanted, and with the greatest ease. Mr. Peter 

 Henderson was heai'd to say concerning it, that 

 if he had had it in use for the past 15 3-ears he 

 would have saved many thousands of dollars 

 in the cost of glazing. It is just as well adapted 

 to the use of the owner of a single hot-bed or 

 small glass house. 



What is in a Name. The good old words 

 garden and gardening should not be narrowed 

 down to less than their full meaning. Judging 

 by the frequency such names as Floral Guide, 

 Floral Magazine, Floral Instructor, Fruit 

 Grower, Fruit Guide, etc. , are met, 

 all of which are applied to publica- 

 tions or to matter relating to garden- 

 ing in all departments, we think 

 there is some danger of this. Then 

 again we have noticed an inclina- 

 tion to consider only vegetable 

 growers as gardeners. All this is 

 wrong; the grower of either fruits, 

 flowers, ornamental plants or escu- 

 lents is a gardener. [See Webster 

 and Worcester.] Popular Garden- 

 ing, in name as well as in fact, 

 means to do its share always in 

 retaining the right meaning for 

 these words. In England they act 

 wisely as to this — nearly every one 

 of the numerous gardening journals 

 there published embraces the word 

 garden or gardening in the ti'uest 

 and widest sense. 



Soot-water for Plants. Chas. A. 

 Geist, of Luzerne Co., Pa., sends in 

 the following valuable article: Soot- 

 water as a fertilizer is unequaled 

 for the amateur's use ; always within 

 reach, effective and not unpleasant 

 to handle. To prepare: Gather a 

 peck of soot, place it in a coarse 

 bag and suspend this in a barrel of 

 water. Work the bag about, once 

 or twice a day, keeping it in the 

 water for ten days, when the liquid 

 is ready for use. Where there are 

 many plants there should be two 

 barrels of the water, the one in 

 preparation while the other is being 

 used. LTse it clear. I don't know the 

 plant it would injure if applied while 

 growth is going on. Even such 

 delicate-rooted plants as Erica I have kept in 

 splendid health in the same pots for seven and 

 eight years by the aid of soot^ water ; and such 

 plants as Callas, Camellias, Azaleas and Roses 

 may have regular supplies the whole year 

 round. Such subjects as Fuchsias, Pelargoni- 

 ums, Cydamens.Primulas and Ferns are greatly 

 benefited by it while they are in active gi'owth. 



SOME BULBS NOT SO GENERALLY GROWN. 



is a fine display of flowers, and which, from its 

 close contact to and strong contrast with 

 sidewalks, streets and buildings, commands the 

 gaze of many thousands of passers-by. In the 

 way of advertising the firm who plants the 

 bed it no doubt pays well for its cost. 



Lily of the Palace is one of the common, as 

 it is a most appropriate name of the Agapanthus. 

 Our wonder is that the plant is not more grown 

 by amateurs, for it is perhaps without a single 

 equal among summer pot-plants for adorn- 

 ing the veranda and plant stand. Beginning 

 with June, its large clusters of Lily-shaped 

 flowers borne on long stalks well above the 

 leaves appear, the blooms lasting for many 

 weeks. The color is blue, in various delicate 

 shades on different plants. The plants are 

 shapely gi'owers always, and in time become 

 noble specimens. As thej' may be wintered in 

 a resting state, in any partly lighted place free 

 from frost, and be grown most easily in the 

 open air in summer, they are really an ideal 

 house-plant for amateurs. 



A Puttying Implement. While at the Phila- 

 delphia Convention of Florists we noticed a 

 simple and inexpensive device of this kind ex- 

 hibited by H. W. Williams & Sons, Batavia, 

 111. Since then we have ordered one of the 

 same, and are so much pleased with it that we 

 had the accompanying engraving made for our 

 readers' benefit. The bulb in the hand is rubber, 

 and similar to that of the well-known flower 

 sprinkler; fill this with soft putty and by com- 

 pressing the hand the putty is forced out and 



Some Bulbs not so Generally Grown. 



At this season of hardy bulb planting one 

 must not forget that there are numerous fine 

 kinds of bulbs besides those of the Holland 

 class, which are entitled to attention. We will 

 here name some of these. It may be necessary 

 to say that of the kinds that follow some are 

 not kept in stock by those dealere who handle 

 dry bulbs, but are to be had from the hardy 

 plant and bulb nurseries: 



Golden or Winter Aconite { Eraiiflii.i 

 liyeniali.'i). This is one of the very earliest 

 bulbs. The flowers are of a beautiful bright 

 yellow, star-shajjed, spreading out close to the 

 ground. On this account they are even more 

 showy than the Crocuses, which they precede 

 by a few days. Perfectly hardy. 



Spring Star Flower (Trilelia nnijlorti}. 

 This is shown in the lower half of the engraving 

 on this page, (for the use of which engraving 

 we are indebted to the courtesy of Messrs. 

 Schlegel & Fottler, seed and bulb merchants 

 of Boston, Mass.) The flowers are white, with 

 a violet-blue line in each petal, of good sub- 



