1 886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



The Wild Goose Plum. 



SAMUEL MILLER, BLUFFTON, MO. 



No matter if its origin be not clear, this Plum 

 is to-day one of great value pn<i eaii be grown 

 by any one who will half try. I have just 

 measured one five and one-quarter inches 

 around one way and five the other. 



My impression is that it was first brought 

 out in Tennessee. The claim that it came from 

 a stone taken from the crop of a wild goose 

 may be so, but we incline to believe the story 

 a little "fishy." 



For one thing, when the wild geese come 

 here from their breeding place, in the North, 

 the Plums ai-e past. Therefore that goose 

 must have got the Plum np Noith and been 

 captured here soon after. In that case there 

 must lie some fine Plums somewhere up North 

 to produce such a tine seedling. 



Then it is a question whether a wild goose 

 will eat Plums. If any one reads this who is 

 familiar with the tacts of the history of the 

 origin of this Plum will they please give it to us. 



Barbed wire fences may be put to a good use 

 by growing Grape-vines thereon. 



Drying Strawberries. If any person has 

 tried this, we would like to have them give 

 us their experience. 



Nothing pays better to evaporate than 

 Plums, and we propose to fill in all vacancies 

 made by blight in our Pear orchard to Plums 

 for that purpose. 



Mulberry. S. K. Mai-sh of Mich., says this 

 is the best post timber grown in this country. 

 He says it is almost rot proof save at the sur- 

 face of the ground. 



We caution our readers against late working 

 among Raspberries and Blackberries, as it 

 causes them to grow late and not mature the 

 wood well ffir the rigors of winter. 



Evaporating Grapes. It is said that if a 

 small puncture is made in each grape on a 

 bunch with a large pin or some sharp instru- 

 ment they can be evaporated on the bunch. 

 Of all Black Raspberries we grow for market 

 or evaporating no sort begins to come up with 

 the Gregg. It averages a third larger and the 

 dried fruit will sell for 10 to 15 per cent more. 

 After a Raspberry plantation gets once es- 

 tablished it costs but little to take care of it. 

 Simply plow up to the rows spring and fall, 

 and cut off with a coi'n knife tops of new growth 

 when too high. 



Such a crop of large fine Plums and Pears as 

 we have had this year, and so free from worms, 

 we have not grown before. All from spraying 

 the trees just after the blossoms fell with Lon- 

 don Purple water. 



Never pull out sucker Raspberry and Black- 

 berry plants to replant. By so doing the side 

 roots are pulled off and man)' will fail to grow. 

 They should be carefully dug, and always to 

 have a piece of the side root. 



The Dewberry. We have tried growing this 

 fruit time and again without success. Where 

 found wild it has been on old worn out land of 

 a light sandy character, and this may show 

 they will not succeed on rich cultivated soil. 

 Keeping Grapes. We have had the best suc- 

 cess by wrapping each bunch carefully in a 

 piece of papei-, and packing all in boxes hold- 

 ing a bushel or so, and keeping in a room where 

 the temperature was not permitted to go below 

 BO" to :!.")' above zero. 



Crooked Trees. Our old grandfather used to 

 contend that crooked and knarly Apple trees 

 were the sweetest bearers. Is there anytiiing in 

 it, reader.' If so, it must be because the sap 

 does not start quite so early, and hence blos- 

 soms do not come out quite so soon and thus 

 escape late frosts and cold northeast storms. 



Try two plans with your Red Raspberries. 

 One to cut back the plants to about .5 feet in 

 height; the other to leave the full growth and 

 then bend two hills together, fastening the 



tops with stout string. The cutting back 

 should be done at once if at all. The bend- 

 ing system may bo carried out at any time 

 through tlie winter. 



Pear Slugs South. We read in some of our 

 Southern exchanges that Pears in certain sec'- 

 tions South were badly damaged early in the 

 season by slugs eating the leaves. We feel 

 confident if they were sprayed once or twice 

 with a weak solution of Paris Green or Ijondon 

 Purple water, say a teaspoontul to a large pail 

 of water, it would destroy them. 



In pitting Peaches with the patent "punch- 

 ers"' we found a large shortage, especially on 

 clingstones. We h.aveexperimeuted with these 

 and find by throwing them into a large kettle 

 the meat boils off" and this stewed up and 

 boiled down makes a vei-y delicious syrup. 

 The skins may be utilized in the same way. 

 May not this be a hint for a great saving where 

 there is now a large waste? 



New Fruits. Look out for a swarm of new 

 Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, etc., 

 this fall or next spring, not one in one hundred 

 of which will be superior if equal to scores of 

 old sorts. We have tried this getting some 

 new sorts from seed of the larget and finest of 

 all our different kinds, and while we have 

 grown some superb sorts, yet among the older 

 well known sorts were those as good, and hence 

 we have refused to push them. 



At the North where land is worth $75 to $125 

 pel- acre it will not pay to set out an orchard 

 of any kind and give the land solely to the trees ; 

 crops must be grown between them for paying 

 results. But in the South, where land can be 

 bought for -*U to *13 per acre, and is not so 

 strong as Northern soil, give the land to the 

 trees, at least after the second or thu'd year. 

 Our (W-acre Peach orchard in North Carolina 

 is simply to be kept ploughed and cultivated. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



115 Meadow Land for Small Fruits. I have a 

 meadow, rather wet, a part of wliicli is prairie 

 slough-grass, which 1 intend to uuderdrain this fall. 

 Will such land be good for Strawberries, Currants, 

 Raspberries and Blackberries after one season of 

 hoed crops? [If the land will grow good Corn or 

 Potatoes it will grow smalj fruits, but they must be 

 of the hardiest sort, like Turner, Thwack, Cuthbert, 

 Ohio, Tyler and Seneca Raspberries, and the Sny- 

 der Blackberries.] 



116. Blackberries,etc., Winter Killing, Is there 

 an.y liability of the last two kinds growing too rank 

 and killing back in our severe winters? The land 

 slopes slightly to the northwest. [We think not, of 

 the sorts named above.] 



IIT. Seedlings. Kindly give the process of sowing 

 Apple seed to raise seedlings, also Pear, Plum and 

 Cherry seed. F. BRO>i, Fulton, Ky. (Apple and other 

 seed and pits must be carefully saved and never dried 

 in the sun, and kept in a cool shady place. The best 

 plan is to get seed in the fall and mix with sand 

 and put in an exposed place through the winter, 

 and in early spring sow in drills. If not thus kept, 

 we have had good luck pouring boiling water over 

 it and allowing it to cool and stand for two or three 

 days. Then pour off the water and mix seed with 

 dry earth and sow as wanted.] 



118. Pruning Raspberries, \\hat tool do you 

 use for this, also do you carry the old wood out 

 of the field: if not, what do you do with it? E L. 

 P., Cameron, Mo. [We use a hooked knife some- 

 thing like the letter J with a long handle. Lately 

 we have found it advisable to leave the old wood 

 unpruned till winter, as we then have plenty of 

 time to do it, and besides it sustains the new growth 

 till the wood gets ripened and hardened.] 



119. Treating a Strawberry Bed. I have a 

 Strawberry bed that has borne one crop and "run 

 solid." I want to get it into rows. May I cut down 

 vines which are very luxuriant, burning them when 

 dry and then plow or will some other treatment he 

 better? ]If weedy and grassy you can mow such 

 down, even taking off the tops of Strawberries, and 

 clean this off with a rake. Then plow under strijts 

 two feet or so wide- leaving strips a foot wide to 

 bear. Run over the jilowed ground with a cultiva- 

 tor and level down well. .'Vnother jjlan is to put 

 straw over bed and burn it over. This last is the 

 best plan and makes the best and cleanest beds.] 



130. Water on Manure. Is it well to pour water 

 upon horse manure which I am piling up under 

 a shed, and adding to from time to time? The 

 manure is very dry. A.U,B...li<li,-ville,lf.C. |No 

 need to pour water upon a manure heap, but throw 

 the heap r»ver occasionally.) 



1~1. Apple Seeds Failing. Can you tell me why 

 they failed to gerndnatc? I poured boiling water 

 on them as you advised, let them stay for a few 

 days, planted them, and not one grew. The seeds 

 were fresh; saved them myself, li. B., Hunters' 

 Depot, Kij. (The seed was probably not properly 

 cured when saved. It must be dried in the shiuie 

 and stirred often to prevent mildew or molding] 



MEAT FROM THE SHELL. 



A Ruriit Wortil writer says he has a Con- 

 cord vine trained on a large Peach tree, another 

 on an arbor and extending among the branches 

 of a Walnut. The Grapes on the arbor and 

 low parts of the vines rotted this season as 

 usual, while those uiion the Walnut and 

 among the high branches of the Peach were 

 free from rot, and the branches healthy and 

 beautiful. 



J. H. Hale says the great Peach enemy in 

 Connecticut is the yellows. He set out .SIIO 

 trees in 18TT; 20(1 fertilized with bam manure, 

 the rest with pota.sh and bone. The fourth 

 year those having barn manure showed some 

 yellows,and more the following year. The others 

 were not affected. Since then half of the for- 

 mer died of yellows. Only one case occ'urred 

 in the others. To this tree ten pounds of mu- 

 riate of potash were applied, and it was severely 

 pruned and thereby saved. Mr. Hale thought 

 that careful culture, close jiruuing, and fertiliz- 

 ing with bone and potash, would secure in a 

 great measure exemption from this disease. 



The Hour makes a timely suggestion, 

 namely, that as money is spent in the decora- 

 tion of cemetery tombs, why not use a part 

 of it for permanent effect? Cut flowers fade 

 before they have lain 24 hours, and potted 

 flowers droop hastily. For the money that such 

 flowers often cost some hardy and long-lived 

 ornamental shrub might be jdanted. 



Professor Budd,of the Iowa Agricultural Col- 

 lege, writes; A Mr. J. B.Spalding, of Illinois, has 

 practiced ringing for fruit for years past. His 

 plan was at first to girdle every other tree, but 

 he now treats all alike. He rings in the latter 

 part of April, taking off a ring of bai-k from 

 the stem one-half inch in width entirely around 

 the tree, taking care not to injure the cambium 

 layer under the bark. He begins to girdle 

 when the trees are but (i years old. So far he 

 has found no harm in the process. The gain 

 is that it sets them to l)earing at once, and 

 they bear full, too. 



The Student'^ Jonrnnl, issued at the Iowa 

 Agricultural College, says; The benefit of 

 mulching Strawben-ies is clearly shown here. 

 While the neighboring farmers' beds have 

 withered away, the college beds have a fair 

 crop in spite of great drought. The whole 

 secret; A good winter mukh, which in the 

 spring was raked into the spaces between rows, 

 where it kept the ground moist. Without it 

 the ground would have been hard and dry, with 

 the crop light. Of all our varieties Crescent 

 and Windsor Chief have stood the dry weather 

 best. These ai-e old favorites and may be de- 

 pended on for fruit. 



The Farm .fonrmil says that green Corn 

 cooked by steam and dried on the ear, is almost 

 as good in the winter as on the day it was 

 plucked. The ears are simply soaked and 

 heated for the table. Valuable juices are lost 

 when Corn is cut from the ear to dry or can. 

 C'harles Downing wrote; My experience is 

 that fruit should be fully rii)e for cooking pur- 

 poses, reijuiring nnich less sugar, and the pro- 

 duct is richer anrl higher flavored. Canned 

 fruit prepared when unripe looks inviting, but 

 it does not compare in quality with that wdiich 

 is put up ripe. Sugar cooked with fruit ren- 

 ders it indigestible, but the practice now is 

 less sugar in canning, adding it on the table. 



