52 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



January, 



Notes from Western Michigan. 



C. W. GARFIELD, GRAND RAPIDS. MICH. 



There is a word not often used, but to me 

 very expressive, and as defining a certain 

 faculty ot the greatest importance to therural- 

 ist, it must not be lost. I mean " gumption." 

 The ability to get out of a tight spot without 

 calling in a specialist; the knowledge of how to 

 tmTi if things do not 

 move as expected. 



So much depends 

 upon cii'cumstances 

 that "no feller can find 

 out" in advance. I 

 have seen ground well 

 prepared at a large ex- 

 pense, lying wholly use- 

 less, because the seed 

 failed; I have seen a 

 man wa.ste a half -day, 

 in the busiest season, 

 going to a harness shop, 

 when a rivet would 

 have mended the break. 

 If gumption were in- 

 tuitive, there %vould be 

 no hope for a very 

 large cla.ss, but fortu- 

 nately, we know it is 

 largely a habit of pre- 

 paring for emergencies ; 

 an acquirement that 

 any of us can " nibble 

 at -n-ith a prospect of 

 getting some oft." 



The trouble is that the most of those who 

 enter the list of nurserymen are ready to 

 answer the loudest call in dollars and cents, and 

 make every effort serve the pocket-book. I 

 can only assert my opinion of such, that no 

 matter what they profess otherwise, they are 

 not now living close by the kingdom of Heaven. 



mxetucaw 



^ocletg. 



Pbcsiiient; 

 MARSH.U.L P- WILDER. 



FlRHT Vli t-I'tlEWIDlNT t 



?. HARRY, 

 Rochester. N Y, 



ORGANrZED 1848. 



Bicnniul Memherahip. 54-0'i. I-ife Membership, f. 



Secret*ry; 

 CHAS. W. GARFIELD, 



BENJ. G. SMITH, 

 Camobidge, Mass. 



Absolute honesty of 

 observation by those 

 who are performing ag- 

 ricultural experiments 

 is the prime requisite, 

 but my experience is 

 that it is so ch»ice a 

 commodity , that a good 

 many who are engaged 

 in such work use very 

 little of it, and it is sur- 

 prising to see how 

 smoothly things will 

 work without employ- 

 ing it; and again. when 

 used freely, how much 

 trouble it begets, 



I mean to say that 

 the man who wTites ex- 

 periments up at hLs desk heis an ea-sier time of 

 it than one who waits for facts that develop in 

 the garden, orchard and on the farm. 



It is so hard to be honest when we want 

 things to come out a certain way. I have even 

 caught myself wTiting an indication down for 

 a fact, and rubbed it out, finding that a little 

 more waiting dissolved the promise. I have 

 caught myself favoring the conditions of a 

 variety that, it seemed to me, ought to come 

 out ahead. It was not willful dishonesty I 

 think, but a huit of natural depravity, at least 

 I can account for it in no other way. 



^.^.^ 



We often hear men talking about how cer- 

 tain ministers of the Gospel have left an impress 

 upon communities, the importance of which 

 could not be computed by any known method, 

 and the wide-reaching influence of which there 

 was no means of measuring. There is no doubt 

 about it at all, but I wish to suggest that the 

 same expressions ought to apply to the nursery- 

 man of any community, if he is built on the 

 right plan. No man can grow trees, shrubs, 

 vines and other plants for a people, if he studies 

 their uses and illustrates their usefulness, but 

 can be a power for inestimable good, not oijy 

 in his own coimnunity. but wherever his pro- 

 ducts and his catalogues are sent. If he enters 

 upon the occupation of a nurser\^nau in the 

 right spirit, the spirit that we expect to exist in 

 our pastors, I incline to think his moral work 

 would approximate that of his clerical brother. 



MARSHALL P. WILDER: REDUCED FAC-SIMILE OF A RECENT LETTER FROM HIS PEN. 



I am certain from some years of observation 

 and one pretty rich streak of experience, that 

 it is impossible to make men honest by any 

 force there is in " Be it enacted." But over in 

 Western Michigan the horticulturists have 

 adopted a method that seems to be ' ' making 

 for righteousness. " They organized a fruit ex- 

 change last suimner, allowing a few of the best 

 growers to form its membership, and adojrted 

 a seal which is placed upon the packages ot its 

 members, each package so sealed is guaranteed 

 to contain full measure of first quality of trait. 

 The seal at once made a reputation. 



But the point I wish to emphasize is the 

 method ot maintaining the standard of the seal. 

 The exchange requests of its patrons to return 

 any packages not up to standard ; the money 

 will be refunded and the jjurchaser reimbursed 

 in every way. Now as one rule ot the exchange 

 requires every man using the trade-mark to 

 place his name upon his package, a delinquent 

 is traced out more easily than an emliezzeluig 

 postal clerk, and he is expelled from the organ- 

 ization. The scheme seems to be working like 

 I a charm and should lie adopted elsewhere. 



been so great that over a thousand kinds have 

 been tested; many have proved of no value, 

 but others stand out like stars in Amer- 

 ican pomology. The old Baronne de Mello, a 

 variety ot high quality, was discovered last 

 season by persons who thought it new. Among 

 other fine varieties which have not been 

 appreciated are the Emile d' Heyst and the 

 Waterloo: the General 

 Warren is identical 

 with the latter. 



Mr. Wilder suggested 

 that premiums should 

 be offered tor the re- 

 suscitation of fine old 

 varieties. He consid- 

 ered the Washington 

 Strawberry Apple 



fully equal in beauty 

 to the Gravenstein,and 

 only second to it in 

 quality. As to the 

 Rogers Grapes, Barry, 

 Wilder, and others 

 succeed with him al- 

 most as well as any 

 varieties except the 

 Concord and Moore's 

 Early. Charles Down- 

 ing preferred the Wil- 

 der to any other native 

 Grape. The Lindley is 

 superior even to the 

 Delaware; we cannot 

 dispense with it. In 

 some seasons the Rog- 

 ers Hybrids may mil- 

 dew, but in others they 

 do not; his Grapes, 

 however, have a very 

 favorable location. 



Mr. Wilder approved 

 of retaining the Davis, 

 Hervey and Wilder 

 Strawberries. TheJew- 

 ell is a very remarka- 

 ble variety ; one plant 

 had fifteen fruit stems, 

 averaging ten berries 

 to a stem. The Prince 

 is probably a parent of 

 the Jewell ; it is as high 

 flavored as any variety 

 makes a large stool, 

 and beai's an abundance 

 of fruit. The Triomphe de Gand continues to 

 grow with him as well as any other kind; a 

 neighbor cultivates half an acre and has no 

 other. The Parry is promising. 



Of Raspberries the Souchetti, imported 

 thirty yeai's ago, took the first prize last year, 

 anil is perhaps the most valuable kind tor 

 family use. The Marlborough is a remarkable 

 grower; he had exhibited here a cane nine feet 

 in length. It is not of the highest quality, but 

 is very pi'oductive and seems perfectly hardy. 

 It produces a host ot suckers — sometimes fifty 

 to a stool — which must be kept down or the 

 crop will tail. The Caroline, which is a true 

 hybrid between the Brinckle's Orange and a 

 Blackcap, is hardy and valuable. 



President Wilder on Fruits that 

 Promise Weil. 



At the first meeting of the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society, in the present year, this 

 subject was brought up and discussed. 



Hon. Marshall P. WiMer said that in New 

 England the interest in collecting Pears has 



Lime Water for Pot-plants. 



In soil that is properly enriched tor pot-plants 

 the angle and some other soft-skinned worms 

 find a congenial home and food. Even if none 

 were present in the soil when the plants were 

 potted, their eggs may have been thei-e and 

 since yielding worms. To guai'd against the 

 evil effects ot any such it is well once or twice 

 during the winter to water all plants with lime 

 watt>r, the caustic qualities of which will kill 

 all soft-skinned worms it touches. A lump of 

 lime the size of one's fist would suffice to make 

 eight or more gallons of the water. After it is 

 slacked let the water stand until it becomes 

 clear before using. Then apply once, and enough 

 to thoroughly soak the ball of earth. 



